Visitor
by Quing
Summary: slight AU. Remy and Rogue's daughter is sent back in time, to before she was born. COMPLETE!
1. 1

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the x-men. I sent a letter to Marvel offering to buy them, but evidently I dont have enough money. Oh well.

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The blinding flash covered the whole room, before retreating within itself and imploding, leaving the room once again in semi-darkness. Marie looked around, trying to figure out what exactly had happened. Last she could remember, she had been running a diagnostic on a piece of Shi-ar technology that has been found on their last mission. She walked over to the exam table where she had placed the small oblong object. It was empty. As she walked around the lab, searching for it, as well as the adamantium case which held the rest of the recovered technology, she realized something was wrong. The lab was set up the same, but its contents were different. Deciding that her mind was just playing tricks on her, that she simply needed to get more sleep, she walked into her office, stripping off her lab coat to hang it on its hook next to the door. She was surprised to find the hook already occupied by a much larger lab coat. She was even more surprised to find a huge, blue furry creature asleep in her chair, with its feet up on her desk. Once the initial shock wore off, she walked over to get her sweater and gloves out of the desk drawer. She opened it up and found only files. Files which she knew did not belong to her. They were in her uncle's handwriting. She remembered putting the files in the filing room, with the rest of his research two years before, when she had moved into this office. She straightened herself up and decided to ask the only person who could possibly know where her belongings were. Waking the gigantic man up was a tricky thing to do. Very few people knew exactly how. Marie prided herself on having been the first to discover the one and only surefire method in doing it. Lifting herself in the air, she crossed back to the front of the desk. Raising her index finger menacingly, she prepared to attack. With a grin that people said she learned from her father, she tickled the large fuzz ball mercilessly until he rolled over and off of the chair, leaping back up to face Marie, who was laughing hysterically. Hank looked angry, but his face softened as he recognized her.

"Rogue? What are you doing down here?"

"It's not Rogue, stupid. It's me."

His face changed again, taking on both anger and confusion.

"**Who are you and what are you doing here?"**

**And usually, he took her jokes so well.**

"**Huh? Uncle Hank... it's me, Marie."**

"**I don't know any Marie's, and I'm certain that I am not your uncle."**

"**Of course you aren't my uncle, but I've always called you that. As long as I can remember."**

"**How did you get in here?"**

"**Merde. What's up with all of the questions?! I used my card!"**

**She held up the magnetic key card that she used to get into the lab. Hank grabbed it from her hand and examined it.**

"**I've never seen this before either."**

"**Uncle Hank... are you feeling alright?"**

**She reached out to feel his forehead, but he leapt out of the way and landed across the room, taking a defensive stance. **

"**Whoever you are, you are trespassing. And you will find that we do not deal with trespassers very well here."**

"**Trespassing? Me? I've lived here my entire life. From the day I was born!"**

"**I'm afraid that is impossible. You're coming with me now."**

**He stepped forward, looking more menacing than Marie had ever seen him, and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her out of the office. She wasn't going to have any of it though. He hadn't been able to force her to go anywhere since she was young, and she wasn't about to let him start now. She planted herself firmly on the ground, refusing to budge. She knew that she was being childish, but then again, so was he. And he was much older than she was. She grabbed the doorframe, knowing (from experience) that the wall itself would have to move before she did. She checked the door to make sure that she had grabbed it somewhere other than the weakened patch where she had last torn it, and was shocked to see that the wall was whole. There was no evidence of it ever having been ripped in the first place. She gasped as she let go, allowing Beast to pull her out of the lab and towards the elevator.**

"**Uncle Hank, something's not right."**

"**How perceptive."**

"**What's happened?"**

**He turned her to face him and started to growl a response that she had only believed Logan was capable of.**

"**Listen, missy, I don't know who you thi—"**

**He stopped midsentence as he noticed her eyes. Eyes that he had seen only one other place before. As he began to realize exactly who she was (genetically, at least), he let go of her arm.**

"**My goodness..."  
**

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A/N: I have no idea why this is in bold ... meh. Leave me some reviews, Maybe I'll keep going with this.

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	2. 2

DISCLAIMER: They still aren't mine.

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Sore from the long mission they had just returned for, the x-men filed into the kitchen a lot later than usual, not talking to each other any more than necessary, but simply grabbing their coffee and donut or bagel and heading off somewhere else to eat it. Gambit went down at about 10:30, just as Jean was leaving the kitchen with her mug.

"**Mornin' Jeanie."**

"**Hello, Remy." **

**He groggily opened the cabinet and grabbed a mug, filling it with the last of the coffee and preparing to grab as many donuts as he could carry. As he reached for the donuts, Jean's voice rang through his head**

**Refill the machine, would you?**

**Grumbling, he filled the coffee maker and switched it back on. He turned to find Beast peeking around the corner, checking to see if the kitchen was empty. **

"**Henri? You ok, mon ami?"**

"**Of course, Remy." He stepped into the room, still looking nervous.**

"**Non, somet'ing's wrong. An' as much as Remy was hoping to sneak out of here wit' all de donuts, he t'inks maybe you should sit down and tell him what's going on."**

"**It's nothing, Remy. I assure you. I've just had little sleep lately, and the small nap I was able to grab last night was interrupted."**

"**By who?"**

"**Um... no one. No one that you should be worried about, anyways."**

"**Right...well, den Remy's gonna go ahead an' take dese donuts... you want one first?"**

"**No, thank you."**

"**ok. Adieu."**

**He grabbed the box of donuts and hurried out of the kitchen, trying to find a place to hide while he ate them. He ducked into a conference room that was unoccupied and switched on the television. He watched cartoons for a good twenty minutes but was interrupted by a screaming coming from the kitchen.**

"**WHO THE HELL TOOK ALL TH' DONUTS?!"**

**It was a scream he knew all too well. He switched off the tv and tried his best to make the room look as if it were still unoccupied, switching to sit in a seat that could not be seen from the doorway. He stretched out in the seat, continuing to eat the donuts, comfortable in his pajama bottoms. As he raised his coffee mug to his lips, he realized that he was all out.**

"**Damn."**

**He hid the box of donuts and headed back to the kitchen to get a refill. On the way, he passed Scott, who had put on a jacket and was looking for his keys.**

"**Somet'ing wrong?"**

"**Can't find my keys... someone took all of the donuts. Need to get more before Rogue tears the kitchen apart."**

"**Good idea. Make sure you get some of de cream-filled ones, non?"**

"**Yeah. Sure."**

"**Oh, and here you go."**

**Remy pulled Scott's keys out of his pocket. He had taken them the day before, hoping to use them in some elaborate scheme to get back at Scott for calling him to go along on the mission, but he figured that if their fearless leader was so worried about the state of the kitchen that he had had enough revenge. For one day anyways. Scott grabbed the keys without questioning him and hurried off to the garage. Remy continued on to the kitchen, where he found Rogue calmly sitting with a bagel and a cup of coffee.**

"**Hey, Sugah."**

"**Mornin' Chere. Saw Scooter in de hall. Looked pretty scared."**

"**Yeah, Ah threatened to tear the refrigerator outta th' wall if he didn't go get me some more donuts."**

"**Chere... you don' even like donuts."**

"**Ah know, but he made me go on that stupid mission yesterday."**

"**Dat's a good enough reason."**

**He poured himself another cup of coffee, watching Rogue's every move instead of where he was pouring. He learned within seconds what a big mistake he had made in doing so. The hot coffee spilled onto his hand, scalding his skin.**

"**MERDE!"**

"**What?! Remy, you ok?"**

"**Non."**

"**Did ya burn yourself?"**

"**Oui."**

"**Here." Since Remy seemed to be too shocked to even speak in three-syllable words, she decided that he was too numbed to take care of the burn. She turned on the faucet and grabbed his hand, running it under the cold water.**

"**Rem... its real red. You should probably go see Hank, sugah."**

"**Henri is crazy."**

"**Look who's talking. Come on, we're gonna go see him now."**

"**Non, it hurts."**

"**Stop whining."**

Remy made as grumpy a face as he could muster, to which Rogue replied by muttering something vulgar under her breath and dragging him along towards the med lab.

**Down in the med lab, Beast was running tests on Marie, who was still confused, even though Beast had explained to her as best he could what exactly was happening.**

"**So you're saying that I've traveled in time?"**

"**If you are who you claim to be, it is the only possible explanation."**

"**What do you mean, IF? I am who I claim to be."**

"**You're very convincing, I'll give you that."**

"**Well, it seems as if I've been practicing for this 'role' my entire life. I'd better be convincing if nothing else."**

"**How old are you?"**

"**Twenty four."**

"**Hmm."**

"**What?"**

"**That's the same age as your mother is."**

"**Creepy."**

"**To say the least. You say you're a doctor?"**

"**I'm still studying to become a medical doctor. Under you, actually. But I am the team tech specialist. That's what I was doing. I was examining some shi-ar technology, when it went off, and here I am."**

"**incredible. Do you think—"**

**He was cut off by the sound of the door opening and Rogue and Gambit stepping in, Gambit still looking like an angry three year old. When they noticed Beast at one end of the room, talking to a young woman, they approached.**

"**Oh, Sorry t' interrupt, Hank. Remy here has a boo-boo."**

"**Don' downplay it. It hurts."**

"**He's a baby."**

"**Non! Don' believe her," he said, addressing Marie. "She says all kinds of t'ings dat make Remy look bad."**

"**Only when ya deserve it, swamp rat."**

**Marie was stunned. Here, she was looking at her parents, squabbling like they always did, but younger than she had ever seen them, save for photographs. And if that wasn't strange enough, her dad started hitting on her.**

"**She tries t' make me look bad, but Remy's really good. Really good."**

**Marie couldn't think of anything to say, so she started to laugh nervously, which caused her bangs to fall from behind her ears, the white cascading down from a sea of brown. Remy and Rogue noticed her hair at the same time.**

"**Well, so much for me bein' original around here."**

"**Love de hair, chere."**

**Once again strained for something to say, she instead looked up at the pair, showing them, for the first time, her red on black eyes. The air in the room tensed up, and no one spoke until Beast cleared his throat and voiced exactly what Marie was thinking.**

"**Well... this is awkward."  
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Thanks for the reviews! Again... don't know what's up with the bold thing... tried to fix it but gave up. Laziness wins again.  
  
So leave reviews! I have the next chapter ready... just waiting to hear from everyone out there.  



	3. 3

DISCLAIMER: they STILL aren't mine.

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"**Whaddaya mean she's mah daughter?!"**

"**I mean exactly what I said. I've done the bloodwork. The DNA matches."**

"**Non, Henri. Dat's impossible."**

**They were in another part of the lab, Beast putting the burn cream on Gambit's hand. Marie was watching television in Beast's office, straining to hear the whole conversation.**

"**Remy. I told you, I didn't believe it myself at first, but now I am convinced. When the professor returns, we can have him run a mental scan on her if that will help you to believe it."**

"**But, Hank... y'know it ain't possible. Ah can't..."**

"**I know. Perhaps when Charles returns, he can get that information from her as well. But I'm telling you, its true."**

"**So de femme just traveled t'rough time? Dat's not possible eit'er."**

"**You know it is. We've seen it before. Bishop is from the future as well."**

"**Does she know him?"**

"**Not that I can tell. Besides, the times don't match up. Marie is the same age as you are, which means that she has only traveled back 30 years at the most. Bishop traveled at least 70."**

"**I still don' believe it. You said her name is Marie? Remy would never name his kid 'Marie'. What kind of a name is dat anyways?"**

"**Naw, Rem...It's gotta be true. Ah probably named her."**

"**Why 'Marie'? Remy can t'ink of lots of better names den Marie."**

"**Because that's mah name."**

"**Que? Dat's your name?"**

"**Ah've never told anyone before. No one knows it. It's not a coincidence. Besides, she's got your eyes. Ah aint never seen anyone else with that crazy look to them before."**

"**Remy t'ought you liked his eyes."**

"**Ah do, sugah. But they're still one of a kind."**

"**Just like dat crazy dye job you got goin' dere, non?"**

"**It ain't a dye job, swamp rat. Don't make me break your other hand."**

**Before they could get too out of hand, Beast stepped in.**

"**So. May I recommend that the two of you talk to your daughter? Perhaps there are things that she will remember or be able to tell you better than she is able to tell me."**

"**Alright... We can try it. But Hank, what exactly do you say to yer kid who just happens to be th' same age as you? 'How about them Red Sox?'"**

**Beast chuckled. "Well, maybe that's a start."**

**Rogue stood up and led the way out of the exam area, towards the office, Gambit trailing behind her, still wary of the whole situation. They approached Marie, and Rogue addressed her.**

"**Well, hey... Marie... uh, you wanna get some breakfast?"**

"**Alright, momma."**

"**Hey, do me a favor, don't call me that, ok? Just call me Rogue."**

"**I'll try.Is there a reason that Per—Remy is so quiet?"**

"**He's a sissy. But you should know that."**

"**Hey! Not fair, chere. Remy's just a little confused. Dat's all."**

"**Join the party, hon. No need to close up like that."**

**Remy grumbled as they headed up in the elevator. They got to the main floor and started towards the kitchen, where they ran into Scott.**

"**Oh, thank god. You aren't still mad about the donuts, are you? I got all different kinds in case you didn't like what I chose..."**

**He pointed to the counter which was covered in dozens and dozens of different types of donuts.**

"**Sugah, Ah don't even like donuts."**

"**Oh that's a relief—hey. You're joking, right?"**

"**If ah was joking, ah would have said 'A nun, a priest, and a rabbi walked into a bar...'" **

"**Ok, I get it you aren't joking...uh. Who's this, a relative?"**

"**You could say that."**

**He laughed and addressed Marie. "Well, watch out for the Cajun. He's a bit of a ladies man."**

"**Something tells me I won't have to worry about that, Uncle Scott."**

"**Uncle?"**

**She blushed, having forgotten that no one else knew her relationship to the people in the room, and looked up at him. "Um. I mean Scott."**

**Noticing her eyes, he dropped the mug of coffee that he was holding, which made Remy jump into Rogue's arms to get away from the hot liquid.**

"**MERDE! NOT AGAIN!"**

"**Remy! What the hell are you doin'?!" She dumped him on the table.**

"**Scott, this is Marie. She's mah daughter. Well, she's our daughter" she said, indicating Remy, who was still cowering on the table. "Although now that ah think about it, ah must have been drunk."**

"**Riight..." Scott looked flushed, and he quietly excused himself from the room, breaking out into a run once he reached the hallway.**

"**Don't mind him, sugah... he's had a rough morning."**

"**Ok..."**

"**Help yourself to a donut and some coffee. But ah'd stay away from Remy with the coffee. There's no telling what he might do."**

"**It's trying to kill me, chere."**

"**It ain't alone in that, hon."**

**Ten minutes later, they were all sitting in the rec. room, eating their respective breakfasts and drinking coffee. Except for Remy. Rogue had downgraded him to apple juice in a sippy cup. They had been eating and therefore hadn't been talking too much, but Remy had finished his donut and decided to try and start a conversation.**

"**So, Marie... uh, how about dem Red Sox?"**

"**I don't really follow baseball, to be honest."**

"**Non? Den tell me... Is scooter as uptight in de future as he is now?"**

"**What kind of a question is that, Remy?"**

"**Yeah, yeah he is. But you get used to it."**

"**Marie, Beast didn't tell us. Do you have any powers?"**

"**Sure do."**

"**Ah didn't pass on mah inability t' touch, did ah?"**

"**Well, yes actually."**

**Rogue's face fell. That was one of the main reasons that she had always been uncomfortable about the possibility of having kids.**

"**Ah'm sorry."**

"**There's nothing you can do about it. Besides, You also taught me how to get around it, so its not a problem at all."**

"**What? You're telling me that ah'm gonna get control?"**

"**You mean you don't have it already?"**

"**If ah did, do you think ah'd be wearing these gloves?"**

"**You always wore gloves...er...will wear gloves. I figured it was just out of habit."**

"**Well damn. That's good news."**

"**For us bot', chere."**

"**Remy! You're gonna talk like that in front of yer daughter?!"**

"**Its ok, mom-Rogue. This is all so surreal... Even though I know you're my parents, it almost doesn't feel like you are. Besides, I'm an adult too... I'm the same age as you are. I can take it."**

"**See, chere? Fat'er knows best."**

**Rogue chose to ignore him, on account of the fact that he was drinking out of a cup designed for a four year old.**

"**So what else can you do? Besides absorb people like ah do?"**

"**Actually, It's not like you do. I absorb people's energy and can turn that energy into kinetic energy, like what he does. I still knock them out, but I only have their memories until I expel them again. I can also fly. And I'm pretty strong. Not as strong as you are, but stronger than most."**

"**Invulnerable?"**

"**Nope. But I do have a healing factor somehow."**

"**Ah've absorbed both Logan and Sabretooth... must have been passed on somehow that way from one of them."**

"**That's what you told me then too. Or will tell me."**

"**So d'ya remember exactly how ah came about this control that ya said ah'll have?"**

"**You always told me that a friend of yours taught it to you... you said that I was named after her."**

"**Non, dat can't be right. Rogue said dat you were named after her. Dat's her name. Marie."**

"**Yeah. Ah don't know anyone else named Marie. Unless..."**

"**Unless dis Marie is de one who taught it to you."**

**Rogue began to think that maybe Remy was enough of a big boy to take the lid off of his sippy cup.**

"**Exactly. Ya think it's possible, Marie? That you are the one who teaches me?"**

"**I guess, but if that is the case, then how come I don't remember there being a Marie? My only "real" relatives are daddy's family from the guild, Mystique and Irene, Uncle Kurt, and Aunt Anna. No one else."**

"**Back that up, Sugah. Aunt who?"**

"**Aunt Anna. Your sister."**

"**Ah don't have a sister."**

"**Well she looks just like you. Except she always wore sunglasses. But she's got the hair. And she's built like you. She can fly, too. You always told me that she was your twin sister."**

"**Nope, ah'm an only child. Well, not counting Kurt."**

"**Do me a favor?" Remy piped up from across the table, "Put dese on." He handed Marie a set of sunglasses. She put them on and he pointed across the room to the mirror. She looked at her own reflection, and turned around again.**

"**Well... that answers that question. I am Anna."**

"**Sugah, you never realized that ya looked just like her before?"**

"**Well, yeah, but I just figured I looked like your side of the family, y'know? Plus, her hair was always shorter than mine is. And her to think of it, I don't think I'd ever seen them."**

"**When you want to hide dem, its really easier den you would t'ink. Remy knows."**

"**But my name isn't Anna. Why would I have been told that her name was Anna?"**

"**Ask Roguey. She seems t' be doin' all of de namin'."**

"**Anna is mah other name."**

"**Chere... how many names you got?"**

"**Just th' two that ah remember. Ah don't recall what mah last name was. But mah name was Anna Marie. Ah remember that much."**

**Just then, Jean ran into the room, excited.**

"**Oh my goodness! Scott just told me! He was stuttering a little bit, so I wasn't able to get all the details out of him, but I heard what counts!"**

"**Uh, what exactly did ya hear, Jean?"**

"**That you two are going to have a baby!"**

**Remy spit out his apple juice, but Jean continued talking.**

"**So do you know if it's a girl or a boy?"**

**Rogue decided to humor her.**

"**It's a girl, Jean."**

**Jean, in her excitement, hadn't noticed Marie sitting there.**

"**So, when is it due?"**

"**Uh, what d'ya think, Marie, about six years?"**

**Marie did the math in her head.**

"**I'd say three. Maybe four."**

"**Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you sitting there. Ah, I can tell that you're a relative of Rogue's!"**

"**You could say that." Marie looked at her mother, who grinned evilly and nodded. She took off the sunglasses, and showed Jean her eyes.  
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A/N: This was quick. Don't get too used to it. :) but review. Reviewing makes me happy. And for some reason, you should believe that my happiness is important to you.

**(bonus points if anyone can tell me what movie(s) I paraphrased a few lines of this chapter from.)  
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	4. 4

DISCLAIMER: The X-men do not belong to me, but Gambit's sippy cup does.

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Rogue was still in the rec. room, trying to explain to Jean all that they knew. Gambit, having finished his juice, went with Marie back to the kitchen to clean up. As they were loading the dishwasher, he tried to make conversation.

"Y'know, I went back in time once, too."

"I know."

"Remy had t'...you know?"

"You've told me before."

"Oh."

"Uh, I ever tell you about my friend, Jake1?"

"You mean Jackie?" Marie laughed.

"Ha, Oui. I guess dere ain't much dat Remy can tell you dat you haven't heard b'fore."

"I'm sure there's some stuff. There was a lot that you wouldn't tell me 'until I was older'. That kind of thing."

"Remy don' know if he should tell you dat stuff."

"Come on, I'm the same age as mom!"

"She's too young t'know, too."

"Right."

They went back to doing the dishes in silence, until Rogue and Jean entered the room. Jean, who seemed to have composed herself fairly well, walked up to Marie and offered her her hand.

"It's nice to meet you. I look forward to watching you grow up."

Rogue rolled her eyes, and Marie laughed.

"Uh, thanks, Aunt Jeanie."

"Any good news about the future?"

"Um... you age very gracefully."

"That IS good news. Wait. Any deaths? I mean, as far as--"

"I believe you die twice more. Sorry."

"Oh. Well, you get used to it."

"Speak for yourself, sugah." Rogue shuddered.

Gambit took that opportunity to charge a small piece of napkin and stick it down the back of Rogue's shirt. Even though she barely even felt it (due to her invulnerability), she definitely heard the loud bang and smelled the burning fabric.

"You have five seconds t' get the hell outta the kitchen before ah kick yer sorry Cajun ass."

"Right... adieu." He leapt out of the window, grabbing onto the drain pipe and climbing up into Rogue's bedroom.

Down in the kitchen, Jean was assessing the damage, Marie was laughing hysterically, and Rogue was plotting revenge.

"Ah swear, if it wasn't for th' fact that ah like you, Marie, and he needs t' be around in order for you to exist, Ah'd kill him."

"Glad to give you a reason"

Rogue walked over to the chair, where Gambit had a habit of leaving his duster, and threw it on.

"Oh, come on, Rogue. You wouldn't kill him"

"Wanna bet, Jean?" She reached into the coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"If ya'll will excuse me..."

"You don't smoke." Marie, for one, would know.

"And from now on, neither does he." She walked outside and flew to the edge of the lake, where she hid the cigarettes in a tree, deciding that throwing them into the lake was probably a bad idea. Sitting on the limb of the tree, she tried to decide not only what she was going to do to Remy, but also what exactly was going on. She picked up the pack of cigarettes and examined it.

Inside, Jean was leading Marie towards the room that she was going to use.

"I'm sorry if it isn't your, uh, old room, but It's the only one open in the adult wing."

"That's ok, I'm sure it'll be...that's strange."

"What?" If something was amiss, and Jean didn't notice it first, she got worried.

"My memories... they're different now."

"In what way?"

"I think mom just took up smoking."

"Oh. Uh... here we are."

On the one hand, Jean was relieved that it wasn't anything too drastic, but on the other hand, she was worried about her friend. She reminded herself to look into it later. She opened the door and Marie walked in.

"Heh, I should have known."

"Known what?"

"This was my Aunt Anna's room."

"Um... oh, oh. Right. Well, I'm going shopping in a little bit, if you want to come along. If you need clothes or whatever."

"That sounds great. When you're about to leave," she tapped her head. "Give me a call."

"Will do." Jean left the room and ran off to find Scott and fill him in. Outside, Rogue had just finished her cigarette and removed her shredded shirt from underneath the large coat. Examining the burned hole in the back, she shoved it in one of the coat pockets, muttering something that involved the words "swamp rat". As she started to pull her hand out of the pocket, it hit some kind of thick paper. She pulled it out and looked at it. It was a picture of her. She smiled as she put it back in the pocket and took off towards the mansion. Instead of simply flying in through her window (which she left open for that very reason), she decided to go in through the front door, so she could see if Marie was still around with Jean. She checked the kitchen and the rec. room and decided that Marie was upstairs already. She headed towards the empty room in the adult wing, and knocked on the door.

"Yes?"

"Hey, Marie... its, uh, Rogue."

"Come in"

She walked in, making sure that the coat was buttoned. Sure, Marie was her daughter, but she was still basically a stranger. Marie was sitting on the bed, reading a book that she had found on the dresser.

"You know, mom, when he gets older, dad starts to cough from smoking those things." She put the book down. "But you don't. Hank says that it's because of your invulnerability."

"Ah'll have t' rub that in Remy's face next chance ah get."

"Heh, yeah."

"Sorry ah cut out like that downstairs. Ah... well, mah shirt was on fire."

"It's ok. Is it alright if I go shopping with Aunt Jean later?"

"Yer askin' me permission?"

Marie blushed a little.

"Old habits die hard. Let me rephrase that. I'm going shopping later with Jean."

"Sounds fun. Don't let her go near th'—"

"Gourmet chocolate store, I know."

"When you get back, Ah'm gonna make you tell me all about this control thing, ok?"

"That's fair. Oh, Jean just let me know she's ready to go... Guess I should meet her out in the garage."

"Alright... Come find me when ya get back."

They both left the room, Marie heading for the stairs and Rogue heading across the hall and around the corner to her room. She opened the door and was surprised to find Remy curled up on her bed, hugging her fuzzy pink teddy bear. She walked over to yell at him, but realized that he was fast asleep and smiled. She closed the door and walked over to her dresser, grabbing a clean shirt and starting to change into it.

"Remy t'inks he should have burned your pants too, non?"

She whirled around, holding the shirt up against herself.

"You..." she couldn't even think of words to fill in the rest of the sentence, so she just winked at him and pulled the shirt on over her head, making sure that he got an eyeful. Remy started to whisper things to the teddy bear, as if he was filling it in on what he had just seen. She walked over and sat down next to him, snatching the bear away.

"Don't listen to a word he says, Pinky."

"De bear got eyes too, he knows what he saw, Chere."

"He didn't understand any of it until ya started talkin' to him."

"Remy don' like seein' little misinformed bears, dats all."

She hugged the bear and leaned back, against Remy.

"So, what d'ya think?"

"Dat dat bear could prob'ly use some councelling."

"No, ah mean about Marie."

"Oh. She seems nice."

"Not nearly as screwed up as ah'd have thought."

"You sayin' Remy got issues?"

"At least."

"Well, dat goes for you too, Chere."

"Don't ah know it."

"All t'ings considered, she did turn out pretty well."

"Ya mean she DOES turn out pretty well."

"Dat too."

"Hmmh."

"What?"

"Ah was just thinkin', ah wonder what momma's gonna say about all of this..."

"As if dat woman don' hate me enough as it is."

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FOOTNOTES:

1 Jacob Gavin, Jr., codename "the Courier", is a mutant shape-shifter, who, through the help of our good friend Dr. Essex, became trapped permanently in a female form, although he was male. For the complete story, check out the Gambit series from 1999 (I think). It's actually really really funny...

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A/N: Took me a little while, but it's up. I was going to try and put a little more French in it, realized that I don't speak French, and gave up. So... Review! 


	5. 5

**DISCLAIMER: The X-men do not belong to me. But my spiffy X-men paperweight does. So there.**

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**Remy was unconscious on the couch.**

"**This is crazy. Ah'm never gonna get the hang of it."**

"**Yes you are. Just try again when he wakes up."**

**He had been the somewhat willing guinea pig in Rogue's lessons to control her power. She figured that since she had already absorbed him, and knew about just about his entire life, he was the best choice for the job. He had agreed up until right before she touched him. But by then, it was too late. Marie had been instructing Rogue for a good three hours, a total of one of which Remy had spent "asleep." During that time, Rogue had a chance to get to know her daughter. Marie had offered to let Rogue use her for practice, but Rogue was too scared that she would learn things about the future that she wasn't supposed to know. **

"**Ya know, he's yelling at me right now" Rogue tapped her head, and Marie laughed.**

"**Yeah, that's never gonna stop."**

"**Great."**

**She looked over to the couch, just in time to see Remy squeeze his eyes shut again as if he were asleep.**

"**Ah saw that, swamp rat."**

"**Damn. Make it quick, Chere... Remy was havin a good dream."**

"**I oughta..." She took off a glove and reached for his face.**

"**Mom! Stop it!" Marie acted as the voice of reason, and received a glare from Rogue. Normally, people shied away when she gave them that look, but Marie just laughed.**

"**Won't work. Now concentrate."**

**Remy stuck out his tongue and Rogue gave him the middle finger, closing her eyes.**

"**When and where, chere?" **

"**Shut up." She clenched her eyes shut and started to order her thoughts and her psyches. As soon as her head was quiet, she stretched out her arm. She slowly opened her eyes as she brought her exposed fingers to his cheek. Her hand rested on his face, and they all waited. Seconds passed, and neither of them felt the familiar pull of her powers. **

"**Dieu..." **

**She exhaled deeply and breathed in and out in rapid succession. A smile played across her face as she continued to touch his cheek. More than a minute passed before Marie opened her mouth.**

"**Told you so." **

**Remy reached up and took her hand in his, grinning broadly. Rogue grabbed the back of his head, and the next thing they knew, they were kissing. Actually kissing, without a layer of fabric between them, without Rogue absorbing Remy. **

**Just then, Jean walked in. She saw them sitting on the couch, Rogue seemingly forcing Remy's skin against her own. She knew that when she got mad she often threatened to absorb him, but she never thought that she would actually make good on the promise. Marie noticed her enter and tried to silence her, but was too late. Jean tried to remedy the situation.**

"**Rogue?! What are you doing?"**

**The outburst was enough to break her concentration, and within seconds, Remy was laid out on the couch again. **

"**Jean! What the hell was that for?"**

"**You were going to kill him if you held on much longer!"**

"**That shows how much you know." She grabbed Gambit and flew away, barreling through the door and tearing through the hallways, locking the bedroom door behind her.**

**Jean stood, dumbfounded, and asked Marie, "What just happened?"**

"**You broke her concentration."**

"**Meaning...?"**

"**She did it." Marie stood up from where she was sitting next to the couch, and walked over to Jean.**

"**Did what?"**

**Marie lifted her hand up and touched Jean's cheek.**

"**That."**

**By dinnertime, Remy was awake. The team ate together, family style, so that Marie could have a chance to get to know the younger version of her family. Rogue didn't eat much, but Remy shoveled down enough food for three people. **

"**Chere, you gonna finish dat?"**

"**Take it."**

"**T'anks."**

**Scott looked across the table, and eyed the ever-growing stack of chicken bones on Remy's plate. **

"**Didn't you eat lunch?"**

"**Oui. But Remy's had a hectic day."**

**Jean, of course, had told Scott about the recent development in Rogue's powers, but they hadn't told the rest of the team, waiting instead until Rogue was ready to do it herself. Noticing that the pitcher of soda on the table was almost empty, Rogue stood up.**

"**Can ah get anybody anything while ah'm up?"**

**Most of the people at the table shook their heads, except for Hank, who held up the empty basket that they had put the rolls in, and Remy, who pointed to the chicken in his hand and smiled. She took the basket and slapped Remy, then went into the kitchen. As she refilled both the basket and the pitcher, she felt the familiar nudge that meant that she was about to receive a telepathic message.**

"**_When are you going to tell everyone?" _Jean was terrible at keeping secrets...**

"**_Ah don't know... Ah was going to wait until Ah had more control, but knowing you and Scooter, the information is bound to get out sometime..."_ She sighed, as she pulled off her gloves and shoved them into her pockets. "_Ok...Brace yourself."_ She picked up the pitcher and the basket and concentrated, ordering her psyches. She walked slowly and deliberately, rolling her eyes as she saw Jean's apprehensive yet giddy smile. She set the pitcher down in the center of the table, moving slowly. Remy looked up mid-bite, and asked, mouth full of chicken, "Chere, you ok? You forgot Remy's chicken." **

**She tossed the basket of rolls onto the table and took her seat, turning to him and pointing to his face.**

"**You're a mess."**

**By this time, most of the table was paying attention. Despite their generally indifferent demeanors, they all enjoyed watching a good argument, especially when it was between the two hotheaded southerners. And it wasn't like they weren't hard to come by. The pair spent most of their time fighting. Only a few of them noticed, however, that Rogue had taken off her gloves.**

"**You've got chicken hanging off of your chin. You know that, right?"**

"**Remy was saving it for later."**

"**Sure ya were." She reached up and wiped it off. Utensils dropped from people's hands, and Jean let out a little screech of joy. Rogue smiled and sat down, replacing her gloves calmly. She usually ate with them off, but since she was actually finished eating, it was always safer just to keep them on. Hank cleared his throat.**

"**That was... new."**

**Marie laughed. She had always been told stories of how people reacted when her mother first gained control, but it was definitely interesting to witness it firsthand. She looked forward to the time when her mom got complete control, but she knew that that wouldn't happen for at least three more months. Her smile widened as she noticed that even the Professor seemed shocked. He had returned just before dinner from his trip to DC, and was still relatively unfamiliar with Marie. Kurt stood up on his chair and collected everyone's plates, disappearing into the kitchen with a loud "BAMF." Logan cleared his throat and stood up from the table.**

"**That's great, Ace." **

**He lit a cigar and walked out of the room. Kurt teleported back into his seat and turned to Rogue.**

"**Good for you, Rogue."**

**Bobby leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table.**

"**Yeah, that's pretty cool."**

"**You're so funny, Drake." She threw a roll at him. It froze midair, before it was able to hit him. Rogue glared at Jean, who just shrugged and propelled the roll back towards Rogue, who ducked, which caused the roll to hit Remy square in the forehead. The Professor cleared his throat.**

"**Despite the others' inabilities to express their joy, I assure you that we are all very proud of your newfound skills."**

"**Ah know... it ain't really much yet, but Marie says that soon, Ah'll be able to control it for longer periods of time. And If someone screams at me in th' middle of it, Ah'll not lose mah concentration." She glared at Jean, who smiled sheepishly. **

"**It is more than what you had yesterday."**

"**Ah know... and thanks." As happy as she was, she was also always slightly embarrassed when the conversation centered on her. She quickly tried to change the subject. "So...how was your trip?"**

"**It , to say the least. It seems as if the Senate has been discussing the recent Brotherhood activity, many of them are concerned that they not only represent the entire mutant community, but also that they pose a very real threat to national security. I believe that it would be in our best interest to attempt to contact them." He looked at Rogue. He knew that she had Mystique's contact information; Mystique was very good at making sure that she was able to call her whenever she felt it was necessary. Perhaps it was because she still hung on to the hope that Rogue would re-join the Brotherhood, or maybe it was because she honestly cared about her children. Either way, Xavier knew that Rogue had the information that he sought. Rogue, too, knew that he wanted her to give him their location, but as much as she cared for the professor, she also had promised her mother that she would not give up her location unless it was a life and death kind of thing. Her mother had given up on keeping her location entirely secret, knowing that if necessary, Rogue would give the Brotherhood up. She was, after all, on the other team. But despite that, they were fairly close. Or at least as close as they really could be, given their history.**

"**Ah don't know, professor. Ah have to call her anyway... there are things that she should know..." she nodded towards Marie. "Ah'll talk to her."**

"**Thank you, Rogue. I understand that it's a tough situation."**

"**Yeah..."**

**Remy poked her in the side. "When you gonna call her?"**

"**Why?"**

"**Remy wants to know how long he has t' write his will."**

"**Just for that, ah'm gonna call her right now."**

"**Wonderful. Remy's gonna go pack." He stood up from the table and headed towards his room, but was tackled before he even reached the stairs.**

"**Dieu!"**

"**Ya ain't goin' nowhere, Swamp Rat."**

**She dumped him on the floor and stepped over him, heading up the stairs and going into her room. **

**When Remy had collected himself and joined her up in the room, she had already dialed and was waiting for someone to pick up. As he closed the door behind him and sat down on the chair in the corner of the room, he caught her end of the conversation.**

"**Hi. Ah'd like to talk to Raven. Just put her on the phone. Ah'm not playing around with you anymore, Pietro. Either put mah mother on th' phone or you're gonna be runnin' a lot slower and with a limp. Don't think ah won't. Ah swear. Ah'll fucki—Oh, hey momma."**

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**A/N Another chapter... woohoo. Remember, Reviews make me want to update sooner :p **


	6. 6

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the X-Men.**

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**   
"**Momma, there's something Ah should tell you. No, no, it ain't that. No, Ah'm fine. Ah... RAVEN! Will ya shut up a second? Ah'm invulnerable. There's nothing wrong. That's not why Ah called. No, Kurt's fine, too. No, don't worry about that. Ah told ya. No, it's not the...Ah have a daughter. Ah mean just what Ah said. Her name is Marie. Yes. She's twenty four. No, Ah ain't crazy. She's from the future. No. Yeah, Remy. He's right here."**

**Remy looked up and his eyes got wide. He waved his hands and shook his head, but Rogue just smiled.**

"**Yeah, Ah'm sure he'd love t' talk to you. Hang on."**

**She covered the mouthpiece of the phone and handed it to him. "Momma wants t' talk to you."**

"**T'anks." He rolled his eyes and took the phone, pretending to gag. "Bonjour, Raven. It's been so long since Remy had de pleasure of talking to you. Non, really. Oui. I can close my mouth and listen." He sat and listened to Raven rant, his eyes occasionally showing the full scope of the pain that she threatened to inflict upon him. When it seemed as if she finally had come up for air and given him permission to speak, his face was much paler, and his voice was thin and squeaky. "Oui. Remy understands. Oui. Here she is." He handed the phone back to a grinning Rogue, and basically collapsed in the chair, closing his eyes and whimpering softly. **

"**Yes, Momma. Of course you can see her. The Professor wanted to talk to you. Ah don't know. No, Ah didn't tell him where you were. Yes, Remy is still here. As much as Ah enjoy having you chew him out, Ah think he's had enough for one day. What did you say to him, anyways?" She waited a minute while Mystique recounted as much of her rant as she could remember. "Ah see... Well, that might be a problem. Considering the fact that this daughter of mine ain't gonne be born for another few years, that might be something he'll need later. Ah don't care if that puts a bad mental image in yer head. Oh, fine. But just for five seconds." She handed the phone back to Remy, and counted on her fingers as Remy tolerated another round of harsh words. Sure enough, exactly five seconds later, he hung up the phone and ran his hand through his hair. **

"**Well, now Remy knows where you get it from."**

"**Why'd you hang up?"**

"**Raven hung up."**

"**She gonna call back?"**

"**Who knows? But she said dat she can't wait until she comes to say hello to Marie."**

"**So she is gonna come...that should be nice."**

"**For you, maybe."**

**

* * *

Mystique dialed the phone, and waited only seconds for it to be answered on the other end.**

"**Ok, Xavier. I'll meet with you, but only because I want to meet my granddaughter."**

**Pietro happened to be in the next room over, and he overheard the conversation. Once the plans were made, and he heard the phone slam into the receiver, he appeared on the other side of Mystique's desk.**

"**A grandmother, huh?"**

"**Get out of my office."**

"**You're a lot older than I thought, Mystique."**

"**What did I just say?"**

"**As you wish, granny."**

**He was gone in a rush of air, the door slammed behind him. Looking at a photo on her desk, Raven couldn't help but laugh at Pietro's statement about her age 1. She picked up the framed picture and looked at the younger Rogue, the one who had threatened her with a shotgun the first time they met. Standing next to her was Irene. She remembered (painfully) Destiny's death 2. It had been an extremely horrible time for her. She had feared Rogue dead at the time, and Destiny's dying practically in her arms was just the icing on the cake. She wiped the tear that was forming from the corner of her eye and looked away from the picture. She had centuries of memories, none of which really seemed to be comforting. But she was good at hiding it. If her face gave it away, she simply changed her face. Just one of the perks of being a shape-shifter. She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a remote control. Pushing a button, the bookcase against the wall slid open, revealing literally hundreds of assorted firearms.**

"**If Xavier thinks I'm going in there unarmed as well as alone, he's out of his mind."**

**She selected a handful of weapons, including some that were made to look like jewelry. Only a few people were able to spot the weapons, they blended so well with her body and her general sense of style. Rogue was one of those people, but she usually kept quiet about it, choosing to laugh silently instead. Now that she had a granddaughter, maybe that would change. She paused, as she was checking the magazine in her gun. Screwing on the silencer, she imagined what she was going to do to that disgusting Cajun who was responsible for her having a grandchild.**

"**Will be responsible," she reminded herself, cocking the gun. She hit the remote control and the wall replaced itself. Walking back to her desk, she locked the computer and replaced the remote control, then headed out of the office, stopping to poke her head into the den where Toad and Blob were watching television. **

"**I'm going out. If anyone needs me, tell them that I do not care."**

**Toad turned around and smiled a disgusting smile. "No problem, Gramma." **

"**And if you see Mr. Maximoff, tell him that he's lucky that his daddy is so influential."**

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**   
"**She's coming over NOW?!"**

"**That's what the Professor said."**

"**Dieu... dat's not enough time for Remy to clear out."**

"**Rem... ya don't have to clear out." She thought for a moment. "Just maybe take everything that belongs to you outta mah room."**

"**Oui, dat's probably a good idea. Got a box?"**

**Rogue laughed. "Ya might need a few boxes."**

**Gambit grumbled and started to pile things onto her bed. **

"**Hey! I been looking for dis for a long time!" He held up an electric razor.**

"**Sorry, sugah... but it works so much better than mine."**

**He tossed it on the growing pile, as she started to go through the drawers. She pulled a small box out of her nightstand.**

"**Might wanna take these t' your room."**

"**Oui."**

**After five minutes, the bed was almost full of assorted items. Remy pulled up the corners of the comforter and twisted them up at the tip, then tried to sling the large bundle over his shoulder. It was too heavy, though, and he soon got pushed out of the way as Rogue picked it up easily with one hand and walked out of the room. He did one last scan of the room before closing the door behind him and running to catch up with her.**

**On the way to his room, they passed Marie in the hallway. She eyed the bundle that Rogue was carrying and asked, "Is Raven coming over?" Rogue nodded, causing the small box that she had pulled out earlier to fall out of the bundle. **

"**Whoopsie."**

**Marie looked towards the small article and then quickly looked away again.**

"**Did NOT need to know that."**

**Remy laughed and picked it up, slipping it into his pocket. "All gone."**

"**Believe me, it isn't. If you'll excuse me, I have to go ask the Professor for a mind wipe." She staggered off towards her room, closing the door quietly behind her.**

"**Pfft, kids. She'll be fine. Jus' being dramatic, non?"**

**They continued walking, and Rogue and Remy looked back, as they heard a very distinct scream from the general direction of Marie's room.**

"**Yeah, she'll be great, Remy."**

**

* * *

They had just finished shoving the large bundle into Remy's closet, when Jean entered their minds.**

"**Did anyone order a psycho?"**

**Rogue turned to Remy. "Ah guess momma's here." **

**They poked their heads out of the window, and saw Mystique's green Corvette coming down the driveway.**

"**Be careful, Rem... She's probably armed to the teeth."**

"**Dat's good. For everybody."**

"'**Specially you."**

"**Oui. 'Specially Remy."**

**They walked out of the room, stopping by Marie's room to collect her. Marie opened the door.**

"**Ugh... yeah?"**

"**Showtime."**

"**Please, a 'show' is the last thing I want right now."**

"**Oh, shut up. Ya know what Ah mean."**

"**Fine, fine." She stepped out of the bedroom and followed them to the main staircase. When they reached the top, they could already hear Mystique chewing out whoever answered the door.**

"**I don't care what you were told, I'm not here to kill you, although it's starting to look like a good idea. I'm here to see my daughter. And I will not be turned away. Either you step away and let me through or I blow a hole through you and save you the trouble."**

**They heard the sound of a gun cocking, and Rogue rushed to the top of the stairs, where she saw Mystique aiming a pistol, point blank, at Bobby's head.**

"**RAVEN! Ah've told ya before, ya come here, ya can't kill mah friends." As Remy walked up and stood beside her, Raven aimed the gun towards him. Rogue stepped in front of him, into the line of fire, and glared at her mother. "Not even th' Swamp Rat." Raven didn't put the gun down. "Ah dare ya."**

**Mystique rolled her eyes and pulled the trigger.**

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1 Mystique seems to have met Destiny around the turn of the 20th century, maybe earlier. This makes her...really really old. (X-treme X-men #1) **

**2 Destiny dies in Uncanny x-men #255... :-(**

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A/N: This is me trying to get as much up as I can before the shut down this weekend...I'll probably have the next chapter ready by Wednesday, but review anyways. If you can. **


	7. 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the X-men, but I do own the first season of X-Men: Evolution on DVD. **

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**The bullet bounced off of Rogue's chest, and Raven put the gun down, hiding it again in its holster at her side. **

"**Got all the anger out, Momma?"**

**Mystique ignored her foster daughter's comments.**

"**Well, where's the girl?"**

"**Straight to the point, ain't you?" She turned to gesture to Marie, and the three of them headed down the stairs. About halfway down, Remy whispered to her,**

"**It's good to know dat you'd take de bullet for me." She replied, "Ah'm invulnerable. Ah'd take a bullet for a tin can."**

"**T'anks."**

**Marie stepped forward and let her grandmother take a look at her.**

"**Well, she looks healthy."**

"**I AM healthy."**

"**Doesn't seem developmentally challenged. That's a surprise." Raven looked at Remy to let him know that the comment was directed at him.**

"**I'm NOT challenged. In fact, I'm smarter than you are."**

"**Doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut."**

"**Guess where I get that from?"**

**Remy was surprised. He had only ever seen one other person stand up to Mystique like that. Personally, he was terrified of the woman. Not that he would ever let her know that, of course. Mystique, for her part, was handling being talked back to fairly well. She resisted the urge to pull out her gun and fire off a few rounds into the girl's chest. Rogue was trying her best to fight back the laughter that was threatening to erupt. Marie was totally unafraid of the woman. Rogue knew that nothing irked her mother more than not having the upper hand. It was one thing for someone who was unfamiliar with her to be unafraid, but for someone who knew all about her to not flinch when she talked to them was completely different. Marie enjoyed watching her grandmother squirm. It was a little trick that her mother had taught her.**

**Raven changed the subject. "So, where do we want to do the whole family bonding thing?"**

"**In hell." Remy got a punch to the gut from Rogue for that statement. "Ow, Chere! You know dat hurts!"**

"**It was just a little tap, you big baby."**

"**Mebbe t' you."**

"**As endearing as this little exchange of yours is, I was hoping for as little interaction between the two of you as possible. Makes me feel ill, you see."**

**Marie laughed. Some things never changed. Rogue grabbed Remy's hand, which surprised him, and led the way to the kitchen. Rogue wasn't much into public displays of affection, for obvious reasons, but she enjoyed doing as much as she could to bother her mother. Remy didn't object, and even started to swing his arm, which she put a stop to quickly. When they reached the kitchen, they found Jean and Scott sitting at the table, whispering about something. Wolverine was sitting on a stool at the counter, drinking a beer and watching television. As soon as they all noticed Mystique, the conversation ended and the television went off. **

"**Ace, what are you doing bringing this trash into my house?" He picked up his beer and chugged the last of it. **

**Rogue rolled her eyes. Jean and Scott stood up. It was always hard for them to be relaxed around Mystique, even though the Professor had lectured them repeatedly about how when she was there to see either Rogue or Kurt, she was not to be thought of as the enemy. Logan just didn't care. She was always the enemy to him. Scott looked up at her.**

"**Hello, Ms. Darkholme."**

"**Shove it."**

**Mystique, however, had different rules about who was the enemy. To her, the only person in the room who was not her enemy was her daughter. And that was a hard thing to tell herself sometimes as well. Scott had turned red, and mumbled something before leaving the room. **

**Jean followed him out after turning to Mystique and telling her, "It's uh, nice to see you again." She at least made an effort, for Rogue's sake. Her friend had told her about some of the more kind things that Mystique had done, including adopting her when she was younger. **

**Logan remained seated at the counter, which bothered Mystique.**

"**Is the little hairball going to be here for this?"**

"**It's my house, ain't it?"**

**Rogue spoke up. "Raven! Logan! Give it a break, willya? You're acting like little kids." **

**Raven made a face at him, and he unsheathed his claws.**

"**Ah said cut it out!"**

**They stared at each other, and at Rogue. Logan retracted his claws and turned to her.**

"**I ain't doin' this for her, stripes." He grabbed another beer from the refrigerator and left the kitchen. Moments later, Nightcrawler teleported into the kitchen.**

"**Mutter! Jean told me you were here. What is the occasion?"**

"**Hello, Kurt. I stopped by to see Marie."**

"**Ah, right. Well, come by the library before you leave."**

"**Of course."**

"**Auf Wiedersehen."**

**He teleported out again, and Remy reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a beer.**

"**Anyone else?"**

**Rogue raised her hand, and he tossed her a bottle. Mystique grabbed it from her.**

"**I'll not have any child of mine becoming a drunk, thank you."**

**Rogue snatched it right back. "No, ya won't."**

**It took less than half an hour until Remy could no longer bear the constant attacks that he received from Raven and the reactions of Rogue and Marie. He excused himself and grabbed a six-pack from the refrigerator and a bag of chips from the cabinet. He left the room, and went looking for Logan. He found him in the rec room. **

"**Hey. Brought you somet'ing." **

**He slid the six-pack across the table and threw the bag of chips down next to it. He pulled a pack of cards out of his jacket.**

"**Poker?"**

"**Sure, Gumbo. You got chips?" **

**Remy pointed to the bag.**

"**Poker chips?"**

"**Oh, non. Bobby had dem."**

**Logan just grunted and opened up the bag of chips, spilling them out onto the table and splitting them in half. **

"**So, you couldn't stand being in the room with her either?"**

"**Non... none of dem... when dey are all dere, its like t'ree Rogues sitting in a room squabbling wit' each ot'er."**

**Logan shuddered.**

"**An' it's bad enough wit' one of her sitting in a room squabbling wit' herself."**

"**I hear you." He dealt the cards. After awhile, they had both started to eat their chips, which made betting a hard thing to do. They gave up on betting and instead just played, exchanging jokes and stories. Logan hadn't warmed up to the idea of Gambit dating Rogue very quickly, but once Marie showed up, he decided that there was nothing he could do about it. He still threatened the Cajun on a regular basis, but they both knew that that was mostly just for the sake of doing it. They had reached an understanding between them and found that they actually got along very well. They were also the best card players in the house, and that made them feel even more linked. Logan dealt out the next hand as a group of students came into the room. He turned to them and raised an eyebrow.**

"**Aren't you supposed to be in class or something?"**

"**Uh, it's Saturday."**

"**So go work out in the danger room."**

"**We aren't allowed to run it ourselves."**

"**So find someone to run it."**

"**Everyone's busy."**

**He looked at the students, and then at Remy, who shrugged and tapped the empty bottle next to him. Logan turned back to the students.**

"**You can stay on one condition. Go get us another six-pack."**

"**But we're not allowed—"**

"**You are now."**

**Two of the kids walked out, and some of them went over to the TV and started flipping through the channels. Soon, the two students who had gone for the beers came back, out of breath. They locked the door behind them, and Remy turned to them.**

"**What? What's wrong?"**

**One of them was trying to talk, but couldn't. The other was able to choke something out.**

"**M...Mys...Mystique. In the kitchen."**

**Remy and Logan laughed, and Remy reached for the beers. **

"**Now you know why we din't want t' go in dere, non?"**

"**You knew she was here?"**

"**Oui. She's here a lot."**

"**WHAT?"**

**Logan laughed. He loved making the kids feel uncomfortable, but only to a certain degree.**

"**She's not here to kill anyone." He reassured them. They didn't seem any less frazzled, though. The students who had been watching TV now were paying attention to what was happening, and one of them asked Logan, "Are you sure she won't kill anyone?" **

**They had all heard stories, of course. Logan smiled at the kid and answered him, "Well, she might kill LeBeau here, but that's alright." **

**The students were still as scared as before, if not more so. Remy took a swig of his beer and clarified, "Mystique is here t' see Rogue. She don' like me none, because Rogue and I have a..."**

"**Ravaging affair?" One of the students offered.**

"**I was t'inking somet'ing like 'history'."**

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A/N: Well... I tried to get this up as soon as i could. Hope you like it. and review. please? **


	8. 8

**DISCLAIMER: The X-men are not mine. **

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**Mystique's visit was long but calm. She spent a good two hours with Rogue and Marie in the kitchen, before going up to Rogue's room to make sure that she was being taken care of well (or at least that was her excuse for the examination). Later, she met briefly with the Professor and then spent some time with Kurt before heading home. She remarked, as she left, that she would have stayed later if she wasn't worried about finding out the secrets of what happened in the mansion at night. Once that statement had been made, Rogue had smiled sweetly and slammed the door in her face. As Raven pulled away from the house, she smiled and thought to herself that she wouldn't have it any other way. **

**When Rogue went up to her room, she found Remy there, sleeping. He had a note taped to his face.**

"**Kid- Gumbo here fell asleep during the movie. Took him to his room, but the bed was covered in crap. Hope you don't mind that I dumped him here. –Logan"**

**She crumpled the note and started to throw it into the trash can when she remembered something. She opened the note again, and re-read it. After thinking for a moment, she walked to Remy's room and opened the door. Sure enough, the bed was covered in all of the things that they had removed from her room earlier. **

"**That's strange… Ah could've sworn Ah put all of this in th' closet…unless…Mystique." She rolled her eyes and collected the corners of the comforter. When she reached her room, she noticed that her phone was blinking. She had a message. She pushed the button.**

"**Rogue, It's Raven. I just wanted to let you know that I noticed right away that you didn't have a bedspread. And I'd like to remind you that it is impossible to pull something like that on me. You will lose everytime." The recorder beeped and Rogue smiled.**

"**Love ya too, momma."**

**She started to put away all of Remy's things. As she slipped the small box back into the nightstand, she noticed that he was drooling.**

"**Gross." She slammed the drawer loud enough to cause him to inhale suddenly, and the problem was solved. She finished getting ready for bed and wrenched her teddy bear out of his hands. As she laid the comforter down on the bed, she felt a lot like she was tucking in a little child. She made sure that he was completely covered, then took another blanket and wrapped herself in it. She went to pull off her gloves, like she did every night, but remembered that that would be risky, and left them on. As she drifted off to sleep, the two thoughts that were going through her head were that Mystique had reacted very well to the situation, and that she would have to buy Gambit some of those anti-snoring nose strips.**

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Marie was still wired well after Mystique left, so she decided to do what she usually did when she was unable to sleep. She went down to the Lab. Hank was there, bent over something or other, and she started to sneak up behind him, before remembering how he had reacted the last time she did that. She made sure that her shoes clicked on the floor, and he turned around.**

"**Ah, Marie. Good evening."**

"**Hey there Hank. What're you up to?"**

"**The usual."**

"**Trying to figure out why Jean is able to keep on coming back to life?"**

"**It seems as if that will be my 'usual' for quite a few years."**

"**Yeah."**

"**Actually, it's almost midnight. So I'll be leaving shortly, whenever Robert gets here."**

"**Oh, right. Twi—" Before she could finish her sentence, Bobby Drake burst through the door, waving his car keys in the air and yelling, "TWINKIE RUN!"**

**It was a custom of theirs to hop into Bobby's car and go to the nearest store at midnight to buy twinkies. Marie had often accompanied them, since Beast felt bad leaving her alone in the lab. True to his nature, he turned to her.**

"**Would you like to join us?" **

**She smiled, "No, that's alright. You guys have fun." Bobby was bouncing up and down and he grinned as he dragged Beast towards the door.**

"**Thanks, Rogue Junior!"**

"**Marie, Robert. Her name is Marie."**

"**Sorry. I forgot."**

**She laughed. "No problem." **

**Bobby practically skipped out of the room and Beast grabbed his coat and hat and followed.**

"**Goodnight, Marie."**

"'**Night Uncle Hank."**

**He smiled and tipped his hat. **

**Marie turned to the counter and looked at Hank's tests. She capped the test tubes and slid them into the refrigerator. Noticing a file with her name on it, she looked around before opening it and starting to read.**

**Xavier set his helmet down on it's stand. It had been a hectic day. The whole mansion was on edge because of Mystique's visit, and to make things worse, she hadn't been too giving with information about the brotherhood. She had told him, however, that he would find out the whole story soon. All that she had done was confirmed that they had sent letters to several high-ranking government officials. She also elaborated that it was their own fault that they were threatening to take such drastic actions. Charles stressed his personal feelings on the matter, but silently agreed with her about the way the government was handling things. They had re-opened the registration act, and support for it was at an all time high. The military had already began construction on various containment systems for mutants of varying strengths and abilities. The Professor understood her frustration, but disagreed strongly about the way that she went about rectifying the situation. He wheeled out of Cerebro, locking the chamber behind him. He peered into the Med lab on his way to the elevator and saw Marie cleaning up an experiment. He opened the door and called to her.**

"**Marie?" **

**She turned around. "Oh, hi Charlie." **

**The professor smiled at the nickname that he hadn't heard often but was sure he'd hear more of in the future. **

"**Isn't it a bit late?"**

"**Yeah. I couldn't sleep, so I came down to the lab. Hank just left with Bobby. Figured I'd clean up the mess then head back upstairs."**

"**Sounds like a good plan. Care for some company?" He wanted to get a chance to get to know her better, since he was the only one out of the house when she first showed up.**

"**Sure. I'm almost finished here."**

"**Something I noticed... Your voice. You don't speak like either of your parents."**

"**Not usually, no. Since I grew up around not only them, but all of the people on the team, my accent is more central. I have been known to slip in a "sugah" here and there. And when I get upset, I tend to swear in bad French, so it's still there, just hiding."**

**Xavier laughed. "That makes sense."**

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The next day, they had a team training session. It was the first time that they got a chance to watch Marie in action. The professor had the team congregate in the control booth so that she could demonstrate the range of her abilities for them. Remy had his nose pressed up against the glass, and Rogue was standing behind him. Cyclops was on the other side of the main control panel, with his arms crossed, undoubtedly working her into a battle strategy. Jean sat in a chair next to him, watching intently. Kurt was dangling from the ceiling, and Beast and Bobby were standing behind her. Bobby was still half asleep. Storm stood directly behind the professor, who was working the controls, and Psylocke stood next to her. Colossus, Kitty, and Jubilee were behind them, Kitty and Jubilee sitting on Pete's shoulders, so they could see. Marie had started the demonstration before Wolverine arrived, since he seemed to be running late. The elevator in the back of the booth hissed, and he stepped off, only halfway in his uniform. Everyone in the booth turned to see the new arrival, and he flexed his muscles and winked before pulling the top up. His actions mostly elicited rolling eyes, with the exception of Psylocke, who licked her lips, Storm who smiled, and Jubilee, who started to giggle so much that she nearly fell off of Pete's shoulder. Logan walked up next to Rogue and raised his eyebrow at Marie, who was going through an aerial obstacle course. **

"**Told you that get-up looked better without the jacket."**

**Marie, since she didn't have a uniform of her own, was wearing one of Rogue's old yellow and green ones. She had left the bulky jacket out of the ensemble, though, because she didn't want it to get in her way. Marie executed a complex aerial routine, safely evading two charging sentinels while simultaneously destroying a third. Logan let out a low whistle.**

"**Oh, yeah… SO much better without the jacket."**

**Rogue turned and read the look on his face. She didn't much care for the look she saw.**

"**That's mah daughter yer talking about there."**

"**I can tell. She fills out that spandex in the exact same way."**

**Logan was egging her on, trying his best to irk her. It was his little way of getting back at her for inviting Mystique into the house. He was hoping to get her to strike out at him, which would most likely end poorly due to the cramped nature of the booth. He had done the same thing the previous day, when he called her "Ace." He knew that she hated that name, and that under normal circumstances she would have bashed his face in, waited for it to regenerate, and repeated the actions. But with Mystique there, he knew that Rogue wouldn't dare. And he had been right. When it came to Rogue's temper, he was one of the few people who knew when it was alright to push her buttons. And even better, for him at least, he knew exactly which buttons to push.**

**Rogue smiled sweetly and tried her hardest to refrain from punching him. "Ah'll take that as a compliment."**

**Betsy, who had been watching the whole thing, remarked offhandedly, "If you say so."**

**Remy turned to the three of them and held his ringer to his mouth. "Keep quiet. Remy's havin' a hard time watchin' wit dis babble."**

"**Oh, suck it up, Cajun."**

"**Cram it, Swamp Rat."**

"**Terribly sorry, luv."**

**Logan, Rogue, and Betsy all responded at the same time, Betsy with a certain sarcastic edge to her statement. Before Remy could respond, though, The professor switched the programming and a holographic Remy showed up in the Danger room. Marie swooped down and landed, before settling into a fighting stance. After about five minutes of fighting, Marie turned to the booth.**

"**Professor? Is this programmed with all of mon père's tendencies?"**

**The Professor pushed the intercom button. "Most of them."**

"**Is it ticklish?"**

**Remy stood up sharply as most of the booth's occupants tried to keep from laughing. Rogue was unrestrained in her laughter, though, and eventually had to lean on Gambit for support. His face bright red, he turned to the rest of the team and stepped away from Rogue, intending to make her fall.**

"**She's lying." He glared at Rogue, warning her to keep her mouth shut, but of course, she didn't listen.**

"**No, no she ain't. Watch." She reached out and poked him in the side. He bit his lip, trying to not let it bother him. But soon, she started all out tickling him, and he couldn't handle it anymore. By the time that he was on the ground, recovering from the assault, wiping tears from his face, the Professor had re-programmed the hologram. He pushed the button on the intercom again.**

"**It is now."**

**Marie turned to the shivering image, as it was reloaded. With one swift movement, she took it down, mirroring almost exactly what her mother had just done in the booth. Once she pinned "Gambit" to the ground, she reached down and absorbed enough of him to cause him to go unconscious, which made the holograph disappear. Up in the booth, most people were laughing, and Remy was silently cursing both of the women. The professor told Marie to join them in the booth and turned to the team, a small smile on his face. **

"**Perhaps next time, we'll see what she knows about everyone else. For now, though, I'm going to set up an auto-sim with six different stations, each with a different concentration. Split into five teams of two, and one of three. Once you've completed the course, you are free to go." He wheeled himself towards the elevator, and turned before boarding it. "Oh, and don't forget, this afternoon we're taking the children to the amusement park. Assemble in the front hallway by two o'clock."**

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A/N: Hope that cleared some "things" up for some people :p. Took me awhile to get ready, because of Turkey day, but there it is. Reviews are more than welcome, but you know that. **


	9. 9

**DISCLAIMER: The x-men aren't mine. But Marie is. And that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.  
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**Gambit leaned over and took a large bite out of Rogue's ice cream sandwich. She was watching Bobby and one of the students drag Hank into a haunted house ride. Bobby had bumped the image inducer that Hank was wearing earlier in the day and he had gotten the bright idea to add their own special touch to the ride. After failing to get Kurt's help, they had moved on to Hank. Rogue looked around for Marie, but couldn't find her either. She went to take a bite out of her ice cream sandwich and noticed that a large portion of it was missing. **

"**Cajun?"**

**He put on an innocent face. "Oui, chere?"**

"**Go get me another ice cream. This one is ruined."**

"**Got any money?"**

"**No." **

**He shrugged and walked off towards the concessions stand. She turned back to the ride, leaning over the railing in front of her. Hank had finally given in, and he, Bobby, and Pierre1, the student, were climbing into one of the cars. She looked up at the top of the building and was surprised to see Marie dart from behind one of the large metal letters towards the back of the building.**

"**What the hell?" **

**She turned around to see if Remy was coming back yet, and noticed a group of teenagers sitting at a picnic table. One of the guys winked at her, and she rolled her eyes. She turned back to the ride just in time to see a small cluster of kids run screaming from the emergency exit. She laughed, not noticing the teenager who had walked up next to her until his hand was nearing her face. She reached up and grabbed his wrist, spinning to face him. **

"**Can Ah help you?"**

"**I think you can." He winked again, and she tightened her grip, making him wince. She continued to tighten her hold on him until tears started to form in his eyes. He choked out, "Let go, you psycho bitch" and she smiled.**

"**That's more like it. Get lost." She pushed him away, and he ran back to the table, where his friends were laughing. **

"**Like mot'er, like daughter. You pick dat up from Raven?"**

**She peered around a nearby trashcan, where Gambit was sitting, leaning against the railing and eating an ice cream cone.**

"**How long have ya been sitting there?"**

"**Only since right before de little man got shut down."**

"**Didja get mah ice cream?"**

"**Oui." He held it up and tossed it to her. She caught it and started to unwrap it, pointing to the haunted house ride.**

"**Marie went in there, too. Ah don't know what she's up to, though."**

"**Maybe Remy should go check it out."**

"**Ah don't want to miss this either."**

**She threw the wrapper in the trash and headed towards the ride, and Remy followed, shoving the rest of the ice cream cone in his mouth. When they reached the ride, the attendant waved them on without checking their wristbands or noticing that Rogue still held her ice cream sandwich. The bar slid down, locking them into the car and the ride jolted, starting to ease down the track. It turned a corner and they were sent into a large, long corridor. Small displays on either side of the track lit up, revealing skeletons playing the piano and shooting craps. Remy yawned.**

"**Bored yet, chere?"**

"**Oh, yeah." She grabbed the bar and pulled it up, not even hesitating as she forced the mechanism open. They hopped out of the car and onto the platform, where another set of skeletons were playing blackjack. Remy sidled up to the table and grabbed one of the hands, looking at it thoughtfully before turning to the skeleton dealer.**

"**Hit me." **

**Rogue slapped him on the arm.**

"**OW! Dat hurt, chere!"**

**Henry stiffened. "We have company." **

**Across the tracks, an evil looking snowman shifted positions slightly to peer down the dark hallway. Another dark figure stepped from shadows that barely existed and hopped off of the platform, landing on the tracks with a thud. It stepped out of the way seconds before the car came down, the restraint bar bent upwards. All three men looked at the car as it passed. Hank turned to the two who were now both standing on the platform across the tracks.**

"**Either Piotr somehow got out of 'kiddie-land' duty, or Rogue is here."**

**She floated silently along the top of the tunnels, watching everything that happened. She had seen her parents enter and she could see everyone else's positions. She smiled a little bit as Bobby stepped back into the icy scene he had created. A car full of teenagers distracted her momentarily, and she lost track of Remy and Rogue. A scream from further up the tunnel let her know where they had repositioned themselves. She floated silently down, landing on the shoulders of one of the ice sculptures. It looked up at her before smiling.**

"**Marie. You joined the party."**

"**I couldn't resist."**

**Hank stepped out of the diorama across the tracks.**

"**Was that your handiwork on the cart back there?"**

"**Nope. The parents are about."**

"**Out past curfew?" the ice sculpture quipped.**

**She slid down his back and grabbed a hold of one of the neighboring statues, breaking the arm off of it with little effort.**

"**Oops."**

**Bobby nodded and went back to his human form. "Roger that." **

**Beast grinned. She was a lot like her mother. Another car turned the corner and Marie signaled to them to step down.**

"**Watch and learn." She floated up to the ceiling and hovered, waiting for the car to reach her. When it did, she lowered herself slowly and hung upside-down, her hair falling and giving her the look of horns, and her red eyes glowing in the dark. Sure enough, the occupants of the car screamed. She laughed maniacally and flipped down, landing on all fours on the front of the car. She snarled at them and leapt off just before the car turned the corner. Floating daintily, she perched herself on the edge of the platform, putting on her best impression of her mother.**

"**And that, boys, is how it's done right."**

**Remy had suggested that she help him scare some of the riders before they went to find the others, and she was more than happy to oblige. They stood on the tracks, waiting for the car to come. The lights on the platforms turned on, and the cart turned the corner. Rogue put out her arms and stopped it, lifting it up just enough for it to unlatch from the conveyor belt. She looked up at the people inside, and Remy came up behind her. All that they could really see were her hair and his glowing eyes. He grinned and charged up a card. The flare illuminated the tunnel just enough for them to be able to see just how scared the passengers were. The petrified looks on their faces were enough to make Remy retract the charge and Rogue set the cart back down. The watched it slowly edge away, as the riders continued to whimper. **

"**Ah don't think that Ah've seen anyone that scared since that time that Jean caught us—"**

"**Oui. Remy's used t' dat kind of reaction, but dis is crazy."**

**They both thought for a minute, before coming to the same conclusion.**

"**Marie." **

**They backtracked and boarded an empty car, hoping to catch the pranksters in the act. Rogue pulled out a red bandana that she happened to have with her and covered her hair. Remy put on a pair of sunglasses that he had stolen from Scott, lest the glow of his eyes be noticed. **

"**Whaddaya t'ink, chere? Boston?" He whispered.**

"**Sounds good." She replied then cleared her throat, speaking loud enough for anyone within the walls of the ride to hear. "Man, Johnny, this ride is wicked retahded."**

**He stifled a laugh and replied. "Yeah, Mel, but it's nice and dark." He started to tickle her and she rolled her eyes and giggled in a voice that was most definitely not her own. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move in the tunnel ahead, and leaned in as if he were kissing her and whispered "Bobby is up ahead." She laughed and nodded, whispering to him "I smell Pierre, on the right just short of the platform." Sometimes, she had to admit, Wolverine's senses were a good resource to tap into. He nudged her and got ready to jump out of the car. He raised his voice again just loud enough for the rest of the team to hear. **

"**Hows about we give ourselves a little tour of this thing? I hear one of these platforms is a motel…"**

**Up above, Marie was about to get sick. She hadn't been able to find either of her parents and had returned to scare another car of riders, but instead had to listen to this couple coming onto each other. The woman had just agreed to bail out of the car with the guy, and she wasn't too sure that she wanted to go through with trying to scare them. She gave the others the signal to wait out on that car and watched as the two opened a door that led to the adjacent platform. Within seconds, she was hearing sounds that she knew for a fact were not programmed into the ride. She landed softly back on the platform and made a face at Bobby, who had his head pressed up against the wall. Hank came up beside her.**

"**Shall we move onto another ride? Or break this disgusting display up in a manner that will undoubtedly prove to be embarrassing for all parties involved, present company excluded?"**

**Pierre stepped out of the shadows. "You really have to ask that question?" He grabbed Beast and jumped down into the tracks. "We'll go around this way, on my signal, head through that door." **

**Marie nodded and slapped Bobby. "Pay attention, pervert."**

**He grinned. "I was!" **

**Pierre and Beast made their way to the other side of the platform, keeping low, unable to see what was happening on the platform itself. Marie, however, had lifted herself up once again and was looking directly at what was designed to be a pool hall, but was being used as something quite different. "At least they found a sheet to cover up with", she thought to herself. She lowered herself back to the ground and seconds later, Pierre whistled. She and Bobby burst through the door at the exact second that Beast and Pierre vaulted onto the platform. They were all surprised as a flurry of movement met them and next thing they knew, they were bound by a rope that Rogue was holding tightly around them, and Gambit was pointing a pool cue at Marie's head.**

"**Bang, you dead."**

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1Pierre Truffaut, code name "La Nuit", is a member of the X-Statix. His power is the projection of a dark, cloak-like aura, which is mostly used for stealth purposes. He first appeared in X-Force #116, published in 2001.**

**A/N: Sorry for the long time no update thing. I'll try to make sure it doesnt happen again. Review. Maybe that'll help :-) **


	10. 10

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the X-Men.

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She paced back and forth in the small waiting area of the med bay. "What the hell is taking so long?" She looked at Storm, who had no comment. "Good answer, Windy."

She kicked the stainless steel garbage can, making it dent and nearly fold in half.

The door at the end of the room slid open and Jean walked in calmly, with a mug of coffee.

"Nice of you t' show up, 'best friend'!"

"I'm sorry, I got held up at the… ok, I just didn't want to come down."

"And why is that?"

"Because this is all so very pointless. And I have better things to do, like pick lint from my pockets."

"Thanks for the support."

"Happy to oblige."

"Ah'll bet you are."

"So has the answer to the question answered the question yet?"

"…No." She kicked the garbage can again, causing it to dent on the other side.

"You know, if I didn't know from speaking with the result, I'd say that you really aren't cut out for this mothering thing."

Rogue glared and then lunged at Jean, who froze her midair. She rolled her eyes and spat in Jean's coffee. Jean smiled and removed the offending substance from her drink, dropping Rogue to the ground. Rogue stopped herself and floated back to her feet, brushing herself off. She stepped over Remy, who had been knocked out earlier, and shoved Kurt's equally unconscious body over, making more room for herself to sit. She sank down in the chair and tapped her foot. After a brief moment, she couldn't take waiting anymore and she bamfed into the lab, where Marie was running the tests.

Jean sipped her coffee and looked over at Storm.

"Does she know that you're here?"

"As far as I can tell, no. I'm sure she would have said something, if she suspected it."

"Definitely. She can't keep her mouth shut for half a minute."

"That's my little girl."

Jean smiled. Over the past few years, as she got to know Marie, she also got to know Mystique much better. She had soon learned that underneath all of Mystique's tough, bitchy crust, there was a soft, caring person. She finally knew and understood at some level the bond that Mystique held with Rogue, and even the bond that Mystique held with Remy. She had even started to form her own bond with the woman. Mystique even trusted her enough to give her her phone number, so that Jean could call if anything came up with Rogue that Rogue herself didn't feel was necessary to report. She had received one such call earlier that morning and subsequently had donned the persona of Storm to take part in the moment.

A loud crash and a yell sounded from within the lab, and seconds later, Rogue teleported back into the waiting room, her shirt noticeably charred, and began pacing again. Remy moaned a little bit from his spot on the floor, and Jean pointed to him.

"He's going to wake up in a second."

Rogue looked down at him and kicked him gently. "Good. Then Ah can beat him up f'r putting me through this." She turned to Jean and reached out. Jean started to hand her the mug, but stopped, holding it protectively against herself.

"Are you going to spit in it?"

"Just gimme."

Jean complied, and Rogue gulped down the rest of the hot beverage, then tossed it back at Jean. As Jean used her TK to float the mug gently to the table, the lab doors opened and Marie walked out, carrying a piece of paper.

"Results."

Rogue leapt up and lunged at Marie, grabbing for the paper. Marie in turn, held Rogue off with her hand, absorbing Rogue in the process, and knocking her out temporarily. Jean laughed. No matter how many times she had seen Rogue's own powers used against herself, it was always funny. Because of her invulnerability, the effects of the absorption were very temporary, usually lasting fifteen seconds at the most. Sure enough, Rogue groggily stood up and shook her head once, blinking, before remembering what had happened and getting angry, reaching again for the piece of paper. Marie put her hand on Rogue's face again, raising an eyebrow threateningly. Generally, when the two of them stood off like that, it ended with them both unconscious. But this time, Marie made sure that she got the upper hand. She slowly charged the paper, making sure that Rogue could see the glow. Rogue grumbled and stepped back, giving Marie room. Marie smiled sweetly and raised the paper to her face, reading it. She lowered it and cleared her throat.

"I can easily say that this is the most pointless test I have ever run, and quite possibly the most pointless test that I will ever run." She charged up the paper and let it explode, walking back off into the lab.

"Storm" stood up and nodded to everyone in the room. "This was exciting. If you'll excuse me, I have to go floss."

She walked out of the room, and Rogue pointed. "That wasn't Storm, was it?"

Jean grinned and shook her head.

"Who called her?"

Jean's smile broadened, and she raised her hand.

"Thanks."

"No problemo."

Kurt hopped off of the chairs and headed towards the door. "I am going to follow her. She may have given birth to me, but I still don't trust her."

Jean laughed. "I have a feeling that there's a lot of that going around."

Rogue glared at Jean, and was about to hit her, when Remy suddenly sat up and tapped her twice on the butt, exclaiming "hit me" as if he were playing blackjack. She turned around and hit him.

She closed the door quietly behind her, pulling up the sweatpants. She had outgrown her uniform about a month earlier, and stolen sweatpants from Gambit. Once she had outgrown those, she hunted down a pair of Piotr's pants. He had noticed that they were missing, and spotted them on Rogue, but was too scared to approach her. She was much moodier not only because of the hormonal changes of the pregnancy, but also because once she started to show, Scott had forbidden her from taking part in danger room exercises at her normal level. She still went out on some missions, but when she did, she mostly just took care of things on the Blackbird, instead of being out fighting with the rest of the team. She hadn't been able to sleep and decided to do just what she used to do whenever she was unable to sleep. She checked the hallway before darting to the elevator and heading down to the danger room. As the door slid closed and the system beeped, she took as best a fighting stance as she could.

"Engage Exercise 32, level 45."

She waited.

"Ah said, Engage exercise 32, level 45!"

"Negative, Voice print: Rogue is locked."

"What the hell?!"

"Invalid entry."

"That sonovabitch!"

"Does not compute"

"Not you!" She flew up to the control booth and punched out the speaker, then exited the danger room and headed towards Scott and Jean's room. She didn't care if it was the middle of the night; she was going to give him a piece of her mind. She stormed onto the elevator and pushed the button a little bit too hard. The elevator stopped on the main level and she started to curse, but soon felt herself being yanked off of the car by a strong hand. She looked up.

"Betsy?"

"Good morning."

"Ah have to go."

"No you don't. All you have to do is come with me."

"Will this be quick?"

"That depends on how long it takes you to lose your homicidal feelings towards fearless leader."

Rogue jerked her hand away from Betsy's grip and crossed her arms. "Ah hate telepaths"

"Well, the entire telepath community just loves you. We have conventions monthly. The next topic is 'What color to paint Rogue's baby's room.' See, Jean has one idea, but I have another. And that bloody Emma Frost bitch thinks something else altogether. And the professor, he wants it to be done in wood. Wood! IT may work for his office, but a baby's room? Please."

"Betsy."

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"You DO love me!"

"Marie's gonna pick the colors for the room."

"Makes sense. Ice cream?"

Rogue noticed that the kitchen table had two bowls filled with three different kinds of ice cream. Betsy grabbed a can of redi-whip and smothered one of the bowls, tossing the can to Rogue.

"Honestly, what isn't whipped cream good for?"

Rogue covered her ice cream in it and set the can down on the table.

"Ah'm gonna try not to read into that too much."

"Your choice. We could have had a whole conversation about that, but…your choice."

"Thanks for the offer."

"Anytime, luv."

She hopped up onto the counter and made herself comfortable, eating her ice cream so fast that she got brain freeze. Rogue was also shoveling the food down. Betsy looked up from her bowl and watched Rogue eating.

"Plan on coming up for air?"

"At least Ah have an excuse."

"Touché." Betsy ate another heaping spoonful and licked the spoon clean, using it to point at Rogue.

"So, how are you holding up?"

"An actual question? Betsy, you've lost your touch."

"Oh, give it a break."

"Ah'm doing well. Marie's being a royal pain. Twice."

"You want me to lay the big Marie out for awhile?"

"Thanks for the offer, but if she gets too rough, Ah can do it myself."

"Let me know if that changes."

"Sure will."

"Warren wanted me to check something."

"He's too skinny."

"So it's safe for him to bring his sweats out of hiding?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good, good."

She switched off the TV, having felt the familiar rumble of the Blackbird docking. Over the past few months, it had become harder and harder to walk, so she rarely actually used her feet. She flew to the elevator and headed down to the hangar, where the team was sluggishly exiting the large jet. She sat on an outcropping in the wall and watched them unload the jet.

"Looks like y'all had a great time."

They all looked up. No one had noticed her there.

"Chére! What are you doing up dere?"

"Sitting."

"Get down!"

"No."

"Merde. I'm too tired for dis."

Gambit gave up and trudged towards the lockers, dragging his duffel bag behind him. Rogue watched him walk away and saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She looked back towards the Blackbird and saw Marie trying to sneak by without being seen.

"Ah see you there, ya little snot."

"Why, yes, it IS good to be home again. And these warm welcomes are just the reason why."

"Stop being so snide. This is all your fault. Ah should clobber you."

"You might want to save your strength. You'll need it."

"Ah'll show you th' full extent of mah strength, you little…"

Rogue trailed off, as she suddenly got very tired. Marie turned around and saw that Jean had stepped off of the plane. She smiled, and flew up to her now unconscious mother, carrying her back to her room and laying her down on her bed.

A loud knock on the door woke Rogue from the first good sleep that she had had in a long time.

"Dammit."

She floated slowly to the door, opening it and glaring sleepily at Marie, who was fully dressed and drinking coffee.

"Marie, it's 2 in the morning!"

"Yeah, you need to come down to the med bay."

"What? Ah finally get some sleep, and you interrupt it with this shit? Ah don't think so."

She tried to slam the door, but Marie just put her hand out and stopped it.

"Rogue, you need to come down to the med bay. Now."

"Don't talk to your mother like that."

"I'll talk to you any way I please. Now let's go."

"Don't sass me, child."

"You're coming downstairs right now, even if I have to sedate you and carry you down there myself."

By this time, Remy had woken up and was standing behind Rogue.

"What's dis all about?"

"She won't come downstairs."

"It's th' middle of the freakin' night! Of course Ah won't go downstairs. Ah'm going back to bed."

"She needs to come downstairs."

"Pourquoi?"

"Today is my birthday."

"Yer point?"

Marie stared at Rogue. "Are you so stubborn that you refuse to accept things as they are?"

"No."

"Are you just saying that to disagree with me?"

"No."

"Dis is all nice, but wake me up when somet'ing important happens."

"Anna Marie Darkholme, you need to get your sorry behind down into the med bay right this minute."

"Ooh, usin' what ya think might be mah full name. Spooky."

"Shut up and come down to the med bay."

"Can ah sleep down there?"

"You can try."

"Fahne."

Gambit smiled and walked back to the bed. "Good! Now Remy can get some sleep wit'out worrying about being kicked off."

"Think again, Swamp Rat. If Ah have t' go, so do you."

"Non. You're joking!"

"Ah'm not. Put on some pants and come down with us."

He looked down. "Remy's wearing pants."

"Then lets go."

Three hours later, they were all set up in the med bay, Rogue was lying on a hospital bed and had a few odd machines hooked up to her. Remy was lying on the bed next to hers and they were tossing French and German words back and forth. The last time that Rogue had absorbed Kurt, she had suddenly become fluent in German. It came in handy for when she was angry and wanted to shout at people without them knowing what she was saying about them.

"Merde."

"Scheisse."

Marie poked her head in from her office. "You already said that."

They both glared back at her, and she smiled.

"Marie, We've been down here for how long now? Nothin's happening. Can Ah just go back to bed."

"No."

Remy pulled the pillow out from under his head and covered his face with it, screaming into it.

"Remy needs a cigarette."

Rogue glared at him. "And Ah need some hard liquor. What's your point?"

"I'll be back." He stood up and headed towards the door, but was stopped as Rogue yelled.

"MARIE!"

He ran back, and Marie ran out of her office. Rogue had started to breathe heavily. She nodded at Marie and gasped out, "You're coming."

Marie rolled her eyes. Even in the middle of labor, Rogue made bad jokes.

"Remy, go get Hank and tell Jean."

Remy just nodded and ran off without saying a word. Marie turned back to Rogue.

"Told you so."

Rogue was about to snap back at her, but was cut off as another contraction hit. Marie laughed, and as soon as the pressure died down, Rogue commented, "You're a sadistic freak, aren't you?"

"I learned from the best. You need any pain killers?"

Rogue shook her head. Sure, it was extremely uncomfortable, but it didn't actually hurt. It felt like it definitely should, though.

The door clanged against the wall heavily, and Mystique stormed in.

"Where is she?"

Jean stood up and blocked the door to the exam area, where Rogue was still in labor, 45 minutes after the contractions started.

"She's still in there. They don't want anyone else inside until she delivers the baby."

Mystique sighed angrily and looked around the room, watching as a number of the people seated and standing scattered around the room averted her gaze. She walked over to Kurt, who was perched on an end table, playing nervously with his tail. Bobby, who was sitting in the chair next to the table, quickly vacated it and offered the seat to Mystique. She sat down next to her son and held his hand, giving him a reassuring smile. Jubilee was transfixed on Mystique, entirely uncomfortable with the prospect of having her sitting in there with them as if she was a member of the team. Kitty, too, was watching Mystique, but in an entirely different way. She had always blamed Mystique for all of the troubles that Kurt had growing up, but she saw that they actually did have a bond, albeit one that was formed later in life than, in her opinion, would have been ideal. The quiet in the room was shattered by an ear-splitting scream coming from the direction of the exam area. Betsy and Jean started to laugh, and the Professor smiled a little bit before motioning for the two to calm down. Jubilee had noticed their reactions, and looked concerned.

"You're so mean. She sounds like she's in pain."

Betsy rolled her eyes and replied, "Yes, SHE certainly does."

That sent Jean and Betsy into another fit of laughter, and the Professor choked back his own laughter, before clearing his throat and clarifying.

"That scream did not come from Rogue."

Jubilee thought for a minute, before realization dawned on her.

"…Gambit?"

Jean and Betsy nodded, wiping tears from their eyes. Another scream from the exam area made them relapse into laughter once again, and the laughter escalated as they heard Rogue shout for him to calm down, followed by a loud thud. It got fairly quiet again, and soon, they heard a baby crying. Moments later, Hank poked his head out of the door.

"It's a girl."

Jubilee was ecstatic. "I totally knew it would be a girl!"

Storm looked over at her. "Child, we all knew it would be a girl."

Inside of the exam area, Rogue was holding the small baby.

"Wimpy little thing, ain't it?"

Marie hit Rogue with a pillow. "I'll show you wimpy."

"That's my girl… You wanna look at yourself?"

Marie walked up to the bed, and looked down at the small child. Rogue looked at the baby, then back at Marie.

"You were so cute."

"Thanks."

"…what happened?"

Marie started to laugh. "I walked right into that, didn't I?"

"Sure did." She traced the little girl's facial features, and smiled. "You are cute, though."

"I know."

"Ego trip much?"

"Like mother, like daughter."

"Mind if I join you?" They turned to the door, where, unbeknownst to them, Mystique had entered. Rogue smiled.

"Hey, momma. Look." Mystique walked up to the bed, carefully stepping around the unconscious form of Remy on the ground. She watched as the baby's eyes twitched a little bit, not opening.

"Why is it doing that?" She pointed at it's eyes, and Marie thought for a second, before dimming the lights.

"Our eyes are very sensitive to light." Sure enough, the little girl's eyes started to creep open, and the world came into focus for the first time. Shortly after she opened her eyes all the way for the first time, little Marie fell asleep. The full-grown Marie grinned and took the baby, putting her inside of a large plastic incubator that would not only keep her warm, but also monitor her breathing and blood pressure. Rogue stood up and walked to the bathroom while Marie was out. When Marie returned, she was surprised to find the bed empty, and she ran out into the waiting area.

"Has anyone seen Rogue?"

The entire room stared back at her blankly, and Bobby asked incredulously, "Are you telling us that you lost the woman who gave birth about tem minutes ago?"

Marie nodded sheepishly. She was going to try to explain, but Rogue poked her head out from within the exam area.

"Marie, where's my clothes?"

Marie turned around and her eyes widened.

"What are you doing up?!"

"I'm fine. Where are my pants?"

"You're not fine, you just…" She turned around and noticed that the whole room was listening attentively. Rolling her eyes, she ushered Rogue back into the exam area.

"You just gave birth, for Christ's sake!"

"So?"

"So?! So you need to get back in that bed and rest!"

"Ah feel fine. A little bit tired, but that's it."

"There is no way that you can be 'fine.' Come on, get back in bed."

"Ah'm ok! Go ahead, give me an exam. Ah'm perfectly able to stand and walk and talk and move and dance and…"

"Get back into the bed, and I'll check you out. But if I think that you're not ready to be up, you'll stay in bed?"

"…Fahne."

He opened his eyes, and the world was all fuzzy. He was more tired than he could ever remember being in his whole life. He was sore, and felt like he had missed something big. He turned his head and came face to face with a tiny little girl whose eyes were just like his. A smile crept across his face as he remembered who the girl was.

"Bonjour, Marie." He whispered.

The curtain made a noise, and he looked up a little more, and spied Rogue walking in with a little box. She was out of the hospital gown that she had been in when he last saw her, and dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She walked up to the bed and sat down next to him.

"How're ya feeling, Sugar?"

"Sore."

"Aw, poor thing." She held out the little box. "Bubblegum cigar?"

He reached out and took one of the little pink cylinders, shoving it into his mouth.

"T'anks."

"Am I the only one who thinks this is all a little bit backwards?" Mystique stepped out from where she was standing on the other side of the bed. Remy looked up at her and grinned impishly. The faux fear that the two of them had of each other was unnecessary under the circumstances.

"T'ink about it, Raven. Would you have it any ot'er way?"

Mystique nodded, smiling. He was right.

* * *

A/N: Sorry if it took sort of long... I misplaced the disk that I keep the stories on. What can I say? I r teh st00pid. Well, now that I've found it again, review!!! 


	11. 11

Dislaimer: I still don't own the X-men. But I do own this story, and Marie. Take that, corporate America.

* * *

"Marie! Get your finger outta there!"

She lowered her book and looked over to where the little girl was giggling and poking her sleeping "uncle" in the ear. The large blue man stirred slightly as the toddler shrieked with glee at the prospect of her mother chasing her away from Hank. She poked him one more time and started to run, screaming as she tore through the mansion, with her mother at her heels. She jumped into the air and took off even faster, turning the simple chase into a full-blown aerial pursuit. The little girl giggled as she blew past Kitty and Piotr, who were playing a game of chess. The whoosh of air was barely enough to disrupt their game, and they tried to ignore it. The larger whoosh that followed, however, knocked the whole board over, scattering chess pieces all across the floor.

"Sorry, y'all. Ah've got a little pest control problem."

"Rogue! I was just about to kick his ass!"

"You wish, Katya."

"You want to take this outside, Pete?"

"Da."

"Just… set up the board again."

Marie laughed as she saw the aftermath of her and her mother's wake, and she briefly took her eyes off of where she was going. As a result, she slammed headfirst into her aunt Anna.

"Oh!"

"Are you getting into trouble, Marie?"

"Non."

"I believe you." She opened the door to her bedroom and ushered the little girl inside. Closing the door with a wink, she waited for Rogue to show up.

"MARIE? Where did you go?" Rogue turned the corner, looking behind the nearest plant. She stood up and came face to face with Anna.

"Have you seen yourself lately?"

"You mean in a mirror?" She turned her head slightly to the door of her bedroom, where Rogue could hear a faint giggling sounding. Rogue cleared her throat.

"Yes… in a mirror. Your hair is a little nuts today, that's all."

"Runs in the family."

"Have you seen your niece around? She flew away a minute ago. Haven't seen her since."

"Nope. No Marie here. Feisty little one, isn't she?"

"Sure is. Ah wish that **someone** had told me that she was gonna be able to fly by the time she was four."

Anna grinned evilly. "Surprises can be wonderful things, Rogue."

"Maybe for you. Well, if you see her, tell her that Ah gave up looking for her and that Ah'll be in her room donating all of her toys to charity."

"Will do."

As Rogue walked away, she heard a distinct cry of "ALL MY TOYS!"

She smiled and walked into Marie's room, hiding behind the large plastic play kitchen that Jubilee had purchased for Marie's fourth birthday. Moments later, Marie came running into the room, looking for her mother.

"Momma! I changed my mind! Here I am!"

She looked around the room. "Momma?"

Worried, she started to stockpile her favorite toys so that she could keep her mother from taking them and giving them away. She went to take her stuffed rabbit from behind her play kitchen, and that's when Rogue jumped on her.

"Tickle attack!"

Within seconds, Marie was on the floor laughing hysterically. Neither of them noticed someone else enter the room.

"Well, ain't dis somet'ing?"

"Papa!"

"Remy!"

The tickling stopped, as they both literally flew over to Remy and gave him a hug, knocking him over and out into the hallway in the process. As the tickle battle grew, Anna stepped out of her room with a bag full of clothes, heading to the laundry room. As she waited for the elevator, she looked at how happy the three of them were, and smiled. Her entrance into the hallway did not go unnoticed. Before she knew what hit her, Rogue had jumped on her and dragged her over to the ever-growing pile of people, which prompted Marie to start tickling her. Anna fell over on the floor, laughing hysterically, as Marie poked her repeatedly behind her knee.

"Aunt Anna is ticklish there, too. It ain't just me. Look." The little girl tickled Anna again, and Remy laughed.

"Non, petit. It's just you. Believe me on dis one. It's just you."

* * *

She kicked the door closed behind her.

"Pizza!"

The hallway filled rather quickly with a large and eclectic group of people, all reaching for the boxes.

"Jesus! Let me put them down at least before y'all jump in on me like this!"

One of the younger people grabbing for the boxes started to giggle. Anna set them down on a nearby table and turned to her.

"What's so funny, Marie?"

"You said y'all."

Anna thought a minute, then started to laugh herself. "Now that you mention it…"

A hand reached around her and grabbed one of the boxes.

"Am Ah startin' t' rub off on ya, Anna?"

"Something like that." Anna snatched the box back from Rogue and led the way into the rec. room, where they claimed the couch and television.

"What're we gonna watch today?" Marie grabbed a slice of pizza and

"It's Anna's night t' pick."

Someone vaulted over the couch and sat in between Rogue and Marie.

"So long as she don't pick anot'er of dose chick flicks, Remy'll be fine."

"Who even invited you, Swamp rat?"

"You wound me" He grabbed his chest and pretended to collapse, falling instead onto Marie's lap.

"Père, you're such a drama queen."

Remy straightened out and raised an eyebrow. "A drama queen?"

Rogue set down her beer. "She's right, ya know."

Anna nodded. "She hit you right on the head."

Remy turned to Anna. "You always side wit' her."

Anna shrugged. "So sue me."

Rogue turned on the TV and started to flip through the channels.

"If y'all can't decide what t' watch, Ah'm gonna pick."

There were three shouts of "No!"

"Rogue, Cherie… Remy loves you, he really does… but if he has to watch 'Miss Congeniality' one more time…"

"Seconded."

"Thirded."

"Then pick."

"How about Chocolat?"

"Remy said no chick flicks."

"That isn't a chick flick!"

"Why can't we just watch a good action movie? Somet'ing like 'Spiderman?'"

The girls looked at each other.

"Spiderman works."

"Yep, fahne by me."

"Cool."

"…really?"

"Yeah, really. Now go get it before we change our minds, ya big baby."

Remy smiled and darted out of the room, and Anna pulled a small box out from under her chair.

"So… Shrek?"

"You know it."

She grinned and stood up, popping the DVD into the television. By the time Remy had returned, the movie had already started.

"Dat was a trick, wasn't it?"

"Shh."

He rolled his eyes and went to take his place on the couch, but noticed that Anna had positioned herself there. Instead, he laid himself across the three women, resting his head on Rogue's lap.

"Bonjour."

"Ah'll give you 'bonjour'…" Before she could finish her threat, Anna and Marie both turned to her and shushed her.

"Hmph." She looked down at Remy, who was grinning up at her mischievously. She returned his grin with a halfhearted glare and turned her attention back to the movie.

"Papa, my leg is asleep." Marie shoved her dad as hard as she could, and his bottom half slid off of the couch. He let out another loud snore and Rogue looked down at his face.

"Ew…he's drooling all over mah pants."

Anna nearly choked on her beer, and Rogue shot her a look. "Don't. You. Start…"

Marie was confused. "What's funny?"

"Nothin'."

"I'll tell you when you're older, kiddo."

"I'm old! I'm eight! I want to know the joke!"

"It's nothing, Sugah. Your aunt Anna's just had a few too many beers, that's all."

"Have not!"

"Ah think maybe Ah should walk ya back to your room, Anna."

"As long as we stop in the danger room on the way."

"Oh, ya wanna fight, now?"

"Maybe."

Marie watched them back and forth, before standing up on the couch between them.

"Enough, you two."

She held out her hands, stopping them from getting any closer to each other. To her surprise, her mother blinked once and passed out.

"Uh…"

Anna hit herself in the head. She had forgotten to remind everyone that her powers would manifest soon. Marie sat down, looking at her hands. She picked up a pillow, and it started to glow pink. Anna noticed it and grabbed the pillow from Marie's hands, throwing it over the couch and pulling both Marie and Rogue to the floor.

"Cover your face!"

* * *

A/N: Oh, no! Explosions! Wait...sometimes we like explosions...let me know what you think. Review. :) 


	12. 12

DISCLAIMER: Not mine they are. The X-men, that is. The "other characters" such as Marie are. And the story idea. So don't go stealing it, y'hear?

* * *

"…And that's when I knocked momma out. You should have seen the look on Aunt Anna's face." Marie giggled and grabbed a crayon from the basket in the middle of the table. 

"You knocked her out? How?" Josh was intrigued. None of the big kids at the mansion could ever take Rogue out in training sessions, and he couldn't begin to imagine that little Marie was able to knock her out.

"With my hands, silly. Just like how momma and Aunt Anna do it. That's why they say I gotta wear gloves now."

"Show me."

"No way."

"Do it. Are you scared?"

"I'm not scared. I just don't want to hurt you."

"You can't hurt me. I'm invincible." He didn't really know what that word meant, but he had seen it in a comic book that he took from his uncle Bobby's room once.

She threw a crayon at him. "You're stupid."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not not not"

"Are too too too too too too plus a hundred."

"Am not times infinity"

"Are too times infinity plus one."

"Hey. You two alright?" Jean poked her head into the room, where she had left the kids to color.

"Mom, she won't show me." Josh crossed his arms and tried to look as innocent as possible. Maybe if he acted cute, his mother would take his side.

"Won't show you what?"

"He wants to see how I knocked my momma out."

"Oh, Josh. You don't want to see that."

He crossed his arms and pouted. "Everyone has powers but me."

"Oh, baby. You're only six. You'll get powers. Don't worry."

"It's not fair."

Marie laughed and continued coloring. "I think it's fair."

In response, Josh shoved the table, causing her crayon to streak across the paper.

"Hey! Aunt Jean, did you see that?"

"Yes, I saw it. Joshua, you need to calm down."

Josh put on his angriest face and turned around.

"If you're going to throw a temper tantrum, I'm going to send you to your room."

"I'm not."

"Good. I have to go start making dinner before you-know-who gets down there."

"'Kay."

Jean left, and Josh grabbed another crayon, the entire argument forgotten.

"Give me another piece of paper."

Marie tore a page out of a coloring book and handed it to him.

"Wanna know a secret?"

"Okay."

"I didn't tell anyone else, so you have to be quiet about it, ok?"

"Okay."

"Look what else I can do now."

She closed the door to the room and climbed onto the table.

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Blastoff!" She jumped off of the table and floated in the air shakily.

"Wow!"

After circling the room a few times, she landed haphazardly on a beanbag chair.

"I'm not too good at it, but I can stay up for ten whole minutes."

"Cool!"

"I know. And look at this." She walked over to a filing cabinet and picked it up.

"That's easy. I can do that too."

"Bet you cant."

"Bet I can."

"Bet you can't can't can't."

"Bet I can can can can can can can can can."

"_Kids!" _Jean's telepathic message quieted them down, and Josh headed to the cabinet, putting his hands on either side. After about two minutes of struggling, he gave up and went back to his coloring.

"You're older. That's why you can pick it up."

"If you say so."

"I do."

"You're just jealous."

"Nuh-huh."

"Do you even know what that means, Joshy?"

"Well… no. But still, I'm not."

* * *

She shot up in the air as a bright pink beam of light nearly took her out. 

"_You're supposed to be on my team, stupid!"_ She hissed at him through the telepathic link.

"_I'm not stupid!"_

"_Then why'd you try to hit me?"_

"_I thought you were someone else."_

"_Sure you did."_ She circled the field and spied their target. _"About twenty meters due east. They're busy with a sentinel. Should be easy."_

"_I'm on it."_

Watching him as he made his way to where another team was struggling with a large holographic robot, she dive-bombed at the last second, picking up one of the other students in the process. After quietly rendering the student unconscious, she pulled out a bag of jellybeans and started charging them and throwing them at the sentinel.

"_Jellybeans, Marie?" _Josh had observed numerous attempts on Marie's behalf to find something unique to throw, but this was by far the most ridiculous.

"_Yeah. I figure I can always snack on them if I get hungry."_

"_They're too small. Just use cards."_

"_Cards have already been done."_

"_Yeah, and they work."_

"_Fine, but just for this session."_

She tucked the jellybeans back into her coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cards, charging them one at a time and flinging them expertly at the sentinel's battery pack.

"_Concentrate on the upper half, I'll get the lower."_ Josh had evidently finished putting their other opponent out of commission.

"_Roger that." _She aimed for the crease in the pack and the explosion from her cards were met by an equally concussive force from the ground. Within minutes, they had taken out the large robot and completed the goals for the training session. As the room dissolved around them, they helped the other students collect themselves. They hadn't used their powers enough to really hurt them, only to knock them out of the game. As they made their way up to the control room to get their scores for the exercise, Marie threw uncharged jellybeans at her friend. Every time he turned around, she feigned innocence and munched quietly. But as soon as his back was to her, she'd toss another handful at the back of his head.

"I know that's you."

"Prove it."

"You're throwing jellybeans"

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"Hey, kids?" They had reached the control room and Jean was standing there with their printouts for the session. They both looked up at her questioningly.

"Yeah, mom?"

"Grow up." She handed them their scores and headed back into the room, and they walked on to the locker rooms. Inside the control booth, Anna was trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Jean raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing."

"I know something's funny. Don't make me find out for myself what it is."

"It's just that for a telepath, you're so oblivious."

"Meaning?"

"Oblivious. adjective. Lacking conscious awareness…"

"I know what it means, but how does it relate to this situation?"

"My lips are sealed."

"Tell me."

"Who am I to mess with the course that this universe must take?" She took a sip of her water and leaned back in her chair. "Besides, that would spoil the surprise, now wouldn't it?"

"What surprise?"

"Not telling you."

"You're no fun." She crossed her arms and pouted.

"Jean?"

"Yes?"

"Grow up." Anna grinned. She had waited so long to use that right back on Jean.

"Oh, puh-leeze! You told me when Josh was going to get his powers! Why can't you tell me this?"

"Because I didn't want you to get your face burned off when you tried to wake him from that dream. This is different. I'm not going to go spilling all of the secrets that are adolescents."

"Why not?"

"I just won't." She stood up and headed out, much to Jean's chagrin.

"I'll figure out what you're talking about!" She shouted at Anna's back.

Anna looked over her shoulder and responded, "I already know what's going to happen, Jean. I have an uncannily precise vision of the future."

"How?" A voice came from the direction of the locker rooms and Anna turned in surprise. There was Marie, dressed in her civilian clothing, towel-drying her hair.

"Uhh… no particular reason…"

"Come on Aunt Anna. You can tell me. I won't blab."

Anna did not know how to answer. Of course, she knew that Marie could keep a secret, but she didn't know how she would react to this particular secret. And more so, she knew for a fact that there was going to be a way to get around actually telling Marie about the time jump. After all, she hadn't known about it when she first arrived. Her memories had changed since the incident, but none of the changes were major.

"I know you won't blab… but I can't. You'll know when you're older."

"Yeah, yeah. That's what everyone says."

"I know. It's pretty annoying, huh?"

She started to walk towards the elevator, when one of her memories changed again. Her Aunt Anna didn't always wear sunglasses. She'd had an operation of some sort that made her eyes less sensitive. And her eyes were the same clear green as her mother's. Anna stopped walking. That couldn't be right.

"Anna! Anna, there's something I have to show you."

She felt a tug on her arm, as Beast leapt out of the med lab and pulled her in after him.

"Henry? What's going on?"

"Observe." He held out a small container and pulled something from it. Before she could stop him, he had put a pair of contacts into her eyes and led her to a mirror. She stared back at her reflection, amazed. Sure enough, her eyes were green. And white.

"Wow…cool."

"Glad you approve."

* * *

A/N: That was sort of short. I might add another chapter to this update... but that doesnt mean that you shouldn't review.  



	13. 13

DISCLAIMER: Don't own the X-Men. You know the drill.

* * *

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she sighed. "Ah'm startin' t' get gray hairs." 

"Starting? You've had gray hair your whole life."

"No… you know what Ah mean, Anna. Like, gray where it ain't already white."

"I know, I know. If it helps at all, so am I."

"No, you ain't."

"Yeah. I just dyed it." She waved her hand dismissively and turned the page in her magazine as Rogue paced.

"Where is she?"

"She's fine, don't worry."

"Where's Remy?"

"Still out."

"He's gonna be pissed."

"He'll get over it. If he asks, Just tell him about Josh. He'll forget all about Billy and this whole date right away. Nothing's going to happen anyways. And he won't find out. Believe me."

"You sure?"

She turned the page again. "Of course I'm sure. I was there. Ooh! Horoscopes!"

Rogue plopped down in the nearby chair. "What's mine?"

Straightening herself out, Anna put on her best character voice. "You will meet a handsome man…"

"Ooh. Ah'm intrigued. Go on."

"…and manage to turn him away."

"Yeah, that's about right."

"Do not worry, though, for better things will soon follow."

"That's nice. What's yours say?"

"Evil is stirring in Mordor…the ring has awoken."

Anna barely dodged a pillow that came flying towards her head.

"Ah can't believe that mah daughter is such a dork."

"Well, hello to you, too."

Both Anna and Rogue spun. There, standing in the door, was Marie. She took off her jacket and sat down on the couch.

"You're home late, sugar. What happened?"

"Traffic. Is papa home yet?"

"Nope. You really cut it close though. Ah was getting real worried there."

"I told her not to get so upset about it. You'll probably never go out with him again."

"What makes you so sure, Aunt Anna?"

Anna leaned in and whispered in Marie's ear so that Rogue couldn't hear. "You're going to get back together with Josh."

Marie's face showed just how shocked she was. "I'm… how'd you know about that?"

Anna smiled and leaned back in the chair. "You can't keep anything from me."

Marie just blinked, unable to think of anything else to say, and Anna took that as her cue to leave. She stretched and headed towards the door. "I'm going to turn in for the night. I'll see you two psychos tomorrow."

"Sometimes Ah wonder where that girl's manners are..." Rogue turned to her daughter once Anna had left. "So what did she whisper t' ya about?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you." Marie picked up the magazine that Anna had dropped. "Ooh! Horoscopes! Let see. Hm... Evil is stirring in Mordor..."

Rogue grabbed the magazine. "It don't really say that, does it?" She read the horoscope out loud. "It's time to move on. Don't let old issues rehash themselves." Throwing the magazine onto the couch, she fell back into the easy chair. "You're as bad as Anna."

"Must run in the family."

* * *

"How come you're leaving?" 

"I can't really tell you that, Marie... I just am."

Anna threw another pile of clothes into her suitcase. She had decided that the time had come to leave the mansion. It was getting too close to the time of the "incident" for her to be entirely comfortable. As she remembered it, her aunt Anna had left shortly after her graduation from High School. Something about a job in Pennsylvania. But she had always been incredibly vague and slightly cryptic about the whole thing.

"You'll understand in about five years."

"Fine. Be that way." Marie crossed her arms and sat down in the chair in the corner of Anna's room. Anna ignored her "niece's" actions. She knew them all too well. Not only had she herself used those same actions numerous times to get her way, but she had learned them from her mother, the master of getting her way.

"Not gonna work." She turned and opened her closet, pulling out her uniform. She sighed slightly as she folded the battle suit and tucked it into a hidden compartment in another of her suitcases. She soon added two more of the suits and two pair of boots. Closing the compartment, she compressed it, and the unstable molecules in the suit shifted, the top panel of the compartment sinking towards the bottom of the case, blending in neatly with the bottom. She looked up briefly, and Marie was still sitting there angrily. Sighing, she moved to her bedroom door and closed it. She turned back to Marie and cleared her throat.

"Look. I know it's strange now, but I promise you. In five years, you will understand why I'm going."

"Pfft. Yeah right."

"Now you're just acting like a baby."

"I'm the baby? You're a bigger baby!"

"Not possible."

"Don't give me any of that –"

"That 'I'm twice your age, I know everything _shit_?'"

Marie creased her eyebrows. How had her aunt possibly known that was what she was going to say? She'd never used that phrase before, her aunt was not a telepath...

"Believe me, Marie. That is not what this is about. Besides I'm not twice your age. I'm not that old."

"But why are you just up and leaving now? No warning?"

"If you had paid attention at team meetings instead of ogling Josh, you'd know that I was offered this job two months ago."

"I wasn't ogling..."

"You were ogling."

"Yeah... well, what would you know?"

"More than you could begin to imagine."

"You're leaving right away?"

"I have to. The Professor found me an apartment, the super is leaving for vacation and wants to make sure I'm settled in before he goes."

"Can't Chucky pull a few strings? This is such short notice."

"You can come with me if you want. Until I'm settled in."

"Really?"

"Yeah, if mother dearest lets you."

* * *

They pulled up in front of a redbrick building on the south side of Pittsburgh. Marie read off of a piece of paper. "5302 Carson Street... There's the store." 

"Groovy."

"Yeah, that's what the paper says."

They found a parking space and walked back towards the store. Marie peeked in the window. "Wow... we're going to have to stop in there later on." Anna looked at the posters and toys that covered the walls.

"Oh yeah." She walked towards the door wedged in between the pop culture store and a Starbucks. She pressed the buzzer. After a moment, a heavily accented voice crackled on the other end. "Yes?"

"Um, hello, It's Anna Darkhölme... the new tenant."

"Oh, yes. Come up please." The door clicked and she opened it.

Holding the door open with one of her feet, she picked up three of her bags, motioning for Marie to grab the other bag, as well as her own. They walked up the stairs and were greeted by a short dark haired man.

"Hello. I am sorry I cannot stay long. My wife will be angry if I am not ready to leave tonight. Here are your keys. The man, Xavier, has assured me that you will be good. He has paid your rent for a year already. Very good. My number and more information is by the phone. Goodbye."

The two women stood quietly as the small but energetic man grabbed his coat and bustled out and down the stairs.

"Well... that was odd."

Marie shrugged. "He said he had to go."

"Yeah, but he just... left."

"Good, more room for us."

"Alright. Lets do this then."

She looked around the apartment, the bare walls cold and unwelcoming.

"No place like home, huh Aunt Anna?"

"Heh. Yeah. Well, Remy and Rogue are going to show up tomorrow with the truck."

"I still can't believe that you let the two of them go furniture shopping for you."

"I can't really believe it either. But if I hadn't, they'd have tagged along for the drive. And no one wants that."

"True... so what do we do now?"

"I guess we go get the rest of the crap out of the car and set up camp."

They quickly unloaded a series of boxes from the trunk of the SUV and piled them in the living room.

"I was thinking... you gonna keep those handicapper plates on the Blazer?"

"Nah. Scooter already got me a new set. Should be in the mail."

"Cool."

"Cool enough."

"Did you bring a TV?"

"Yep. Try the box labeled 'TV'."

"Shut up."

Anna set a box on the counter in the kitchen and laughed. "I didn't say anything."

Within two hours, they had unpacked all of the boxes. Anna didn't have many personal items, since she had never had to have a kitchen of her own or anything, so she had "borowed" a few sets of dishes and cutlery from the mansion.

"Chucky's gonna notice all of this is missing." Marie hadn't expected to see her aunt steal anything from the mansion. Her dad, yeah. She herself...maybe. But not Anna.

"No he won't. There's a whole storage room full of new dishes and silverware and stuff. In a mansion full of mutants, shit breaks, you know?"

Marie laughed.

* * *

A/N: Two updates on the same story in one day! "Is she crazy?" You ask yourself. "Yes. Now review." -)  



	14. 14

DISCLAIMER: Still not mine. Marie/Anna and her friends are, but the X-men are not.Josh, too... he's mine. All mine. That sounded wrong.

* * *

"Ms. Darkhölme, what exactly do you think that the purpose of this experiment would be?" 

"Well, Mr. Polesky, if the goal of the current project is to isolate the specific part of one's DNA that makes them a mutant, then certainly it would be worthwhile to test non-mutants for the..."

"No. We don't have time. The government funding ceases to exist unless we have something concrete by the end of the year. We simply do not have time for secondary testing, especially testing involving human subjects. We've avoided it so far, and it is entirely unnecessary to implement it in this stage of the project."

"I'm sure that I could find a way to get extra funding if necessary... but I really do believe that the project as a whole would benefit from it."

"I agree."

"And if...huh?"

"I agree with you, but unfortunately, as I said, we do not have the time. Perhaps during phase two. If we ever get there."

"We will. Rob is working on analyzing the last batch of samples, and I'm going up to the secondary facility to retrieve the next set this afternoon. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Good. I have a meeting in Washington tomorrow. I may not be back until Monday."

"Long ass meeting," She muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, sir. If you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my work..."

He waved his hand in dismissal. "Sure. You have my cell if you need me."

She nodded and walked out of the office and towards the lab.

"Anna! How'd it go?" She turned to find Rob bounding down the hallway towards her.

"The usual. No time, no money. Going to Washington."

Rob laughed as he swiped his key card and opened the lab door. "Washington, huh?"

"Yup. Hey, you want to come with me to Westchester tonight?"

"Is this a date?"

"Don't flatter yourself."

Rob grabbed his chest theatrically. "You wound me, Anna!"

"Not as much as Gina would wound you if she thought you were going out with someone else."

"Touché."

"I have to go up to the Institute. Dr. McCoy has some samples for us. Gina is welcome to join."

"Going to visit with your posse?"

"Yeah, my posse." She pulled on a pair of gloves and walked over to her workstation. They had been testing blood and tissue samples of both mutants and non mutants, trying to figure out exactly where the line was drawn from a genetic viewpoint at least. Anna had been a part of the project since she joined with the research facility two years prior. Rob Ashley had been working with her almost the entire time, and she'd grown rather close to both him and his fiancée Gina Desmond.

"Hey A-Bomb... check this out."

She rolled her eyes at the nickname and pushed the tray of samples back on the table. She walked up to the microscope where Rob was hunched.

"What is it?"

"The DNA here... it's not human."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. I mean, part of it is, but about half is something else. I'm not sure what."

"Maybe the sample is contaminated."

"Probably. It's one of your dear Dr. McCoy's patients."

"Let me see the sheet." She held up the printout with the information on the person from whom the sample was taken. Initials, A.M.L. age, 45 sex, female... Oh...

"Yeah, It's not human. Don't worry about it, though. Just don't use that sample."

"What? Wait a minute, what are you talking about, it isn't human? Do you know this sample?"

"Maybe."

Rob looked around the room and leaned in. "Is it one of the X-Men?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "You just want to meet them."

"Can you really blame me?"

"I can and will if you ever mention it here again."

"Ooh, touchy, touchy."

"Exactly," she replied, cracking her knuckles. He got the message, and grinned. He just loved pushing her buttons. In the time that she had been there, the X-Men had become more and more public, although few people knew of their true identities. Even fewer knew of Charles Xavier's connection to them, which was a necessity given his frequent consultations from high-ranking politicians on matters involving genetics. Most people simply saw him as an expert on mutation; some had their suspicions that he himself was a mutant. Anna had told Rob and Gina that she knew the X-Men, but that was all that she had told them. As far as her connection to the Xavier Institute, she told the truth. She had learned under Dr. Henry McCoy, one of Xavier's staff members. She left out the whole time travel thing, of course, as well as the fact that she herself was a mutant. There's only so much that people will believe.

Anna turned back to her lab station, pausing to rub her eye.

"What's wrong, Anna?"

"Nothing... my contacts are just bothering me."

"Contacts?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't know that you wore contacts."

"Oh... yeah, I do."

"Huh. You learn something new every day."

"That you do." She had given up on re-adjusting the lens and instead took the whole thing out of her eye, examining it under a nearby light. "Damn... it's cracked."

"That sucks."

"Tell me about it."

She tossed it in a trashcan with a muttered curse. Rubbing her eye, she turned to Ron.

"I've gotta get something from my office. I'll be right back."

"Uh...yeah..." He turned back to his microscope and shook his head. He could have sworn that the eye from which she took the contact was black and red. "Robbie boy, you need to get out more. You're starting to crack up."

"Are we there yet?" Gina mumbled absently. She had been asleep for about two hours. Anna smiled.

"No, sweetie, we aren't there yet. You getting hungry, have to take a piddle?"

"Shut up."

"We're going to pull over at the next rest stop. It's coming up, so you might want to wake sleeping beauty back there."

Ron had been asleep for most of the trip, snoring softly in the backseat of the car. Grunting, Gina twisted around in her seat and hit the bottom of his shoe.

"Ron. Wake up."

As she turned into the rest stop, Ron slid and hit his head on the door. He sat up quickly. "I'm up, I'm up."

Anna pulled into the parking spot farthest from the rest stop building and turned the car off. "Ok... there's something I have to tell you guys."

"Are you kidnapping us?"

"Yes. But that's not what this is about."

"That's right... avoid the issue."

Anna smiled. She had been a little bit worried about telling them about not only her being a mutant, but also about her true ties to the X-Men.

"I knew it." Gina tried to act like it was old news.

"No, you didn't."

"Okay, maybe I didn't."

"I did." Ron spoke up from the backseat.

"Oh, really? And how is that?"

"Your eyes."

Anna jerked around and faced him. "What?"

"When your contact broke, I saw your eyes."

"What is he talking about?"

Anna had been wearing sunglasses for most of the night, taking them off only when absolutely necessary. She took them off and turned to Gina, the red of her eyes glowing in the low light. Gina gasped, completely taken aback. Rob sat in the back and just smirked.

"Told you so."

Gina was still amazed. "Wow. I thought your eyes were green!"

"And white." Rob added.

"Well, my mom's eyes are. But my dad's eyes... they're like this."

"Oh. How about that sister you said you had, what color are her eyes?"

"Actually, I don't have a sister. She's my mother."

"Wow... ok... anything else you want to tell us?"

"Yes, actually. And this is something that you cannot breathe a word to Marie about."

"Your niece?"

"Sort of. It's more of a she's me kind of deal."

"Oh. That makes sense. Wait a second... no, it doesn't."

"I know, I know... but there isn't really time to explain."

"Yes there is. We still have a really really long drive ahead of us."

"Actually, now that you know all of this, we can take a much faster mode of transportation. Grab your crap and follow me."

She got out of the car and grabbed her backpack from the trunk, while the other two got out of the car.

"Anna?"

"Yes, Gina?"

"Are those new shoes?"

Anna looked down. She was wearing her battle boots. In fact, she was wearing her entire battle uniform.

"No, they're old. Really old. There is one more thing. Remember how I said that I was a reserve member of the X-Men?"

"Should I be scared about the direction in which this is turning?" Rob had finally climbed out of the car.

"Probably. There's sort of a mission. They needed the whole team out in a show of force. Don't worry though; you can wait on the jet while we go... It'll only take a minute."

"Hey Aunt Anna!" Someone yelled from across the parking lot, and all three of them turned their heads. Anna waved to the figure and turned to her friends, whispering.

"Nothing about our similarities. Nothing about my eyes."

They nodded, and watched in awe as the girl from across the parking lot took to the skies and headed in their direction.

"Anna, if she can do that, then..."

Anna just turned to them again and grinned, launching herself into the air.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the long time no update... I was going to upload the next chapter then I realized that I hadn't done this one yet. oops. So the next one should be along shortly, but thats no reason not to review.  



	15. 15

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the X-Men. But I own the rest of it.

* * *

"Y'all should really come around more often. We don't get many normal people 'round these parts."

Anna took the opportunity to jibe her friends. "Rogue, I'd hardly call them normal."

"Oui, Anna does have a point. After all, dey are her friends."

"Very funny."

Ron and Gina had been visiting with Anna's family from time to time for almost three years, and they learned from early on not to get in the middle of certain conversations.

"Non, you wanna see funny, mes amis? Remy's got some pictures here of when Marie was jus' a little tyke..."

"No!" Both Anna and Marie shouted. They knew very well which pictures he was talking about, and by no means did they want them shared.

"It's fahne by me. Ah'll go make some popcorn while y'all work this whole thing out."

Gina jumped up. "I'll help."

They left the room as quickly as they could, as the voices inside grew louder and louder.

"Ah hope Ron has the good sense t' go to the bathroom or somethin' before they all start blowing things up."

A loud bang from behind them caused both women to wince.

"Guess not."

They had just dug out the last bag of microwave popcorn, when the professor telepathically summoned the team to the war room.

"Damn... Gina, you go ahead and make the popcorn and check up on Rob. We'll be back. If ya need any of it, there's a first aid kit in the bottom drawer of the file cabinet."

"Got it."

The group in the room was larger than normal. Not only were the core team members there, but a few of the reserve members were also in attendance, just by coincidence. Havok and Polaris were there visiting as well, and so the War room was unusually full by the time that Rogue got there.

"Sorry Ah'm late."

The Professor nodded, accepting the apology. "I have just received word from Lilandra. They have discovered a myriad of equipment which they themselves are not entirely sure of. They ask that we send a team to investigate the machinery."

"That doesn't make any sense, Professor." Alex set the mug of coffee that he had down on the table. "The Shi'ar are much better equipped to take care of that kind of thing than we are."

"I asked her about that and she insisted that we come. They would not summon us unless it was absolutely necessary."

"The Majestrix is expecting us soon. Scott, I'm going to prepare the necessary information up in my office. When I return, I expect to see the team assembled and the Jet fueled up and ready to go."

"Of course, Professor."

Xavier wheeled out of the room and, as soon as he was out of earshot, the room itself erupted into chaos.

"This is totally bogus!"

"Some vacation this turned out to be"

"I have to work tomorrow, I don't have time for this."

"There is no bloody way I'm going on this mission."

"Why do they even need us!"

"Yeah, the imperial guard can take care of it."

"We're going to do what we've been asked to do." Scott stepped up.

"You mean we're going to do what the Professor's little girlfriend tells us to do." Wolverine was more than happy to throw in his two cents.

"We're going to aide someone who has helped us in the past. Put out that cigar."

"Yeah, or you'll do what?"

"Enough!" Jean's hair started to blow slightly in a wind that no one else could feel. Both Logan and Scott took one look at her before shooting each other angry looks and ending the conversation. Jean smiled and pushed a button, which brought up a screen that automatically generated the team members that would be ideal for the mission based on their individual skills and powers.

"Marie, Josh, Hank, Scott, Rogue, Ororo, Bobby, and myself will be going."

Betsy clenched her fists triumphantly. "Have fun!" She practically skipped out of the room, followed by Wolverine, who was muttering something about going to Harry's for a beer.

Kurt shrugged and bid everyone farewell and good luck, then teleported away. After cracking her gum loudly, Jubilee waved and tugged Kitty out of the room. "Girl, you need to do something with your hair."

"I do not!" Kitty protested but didn't phase out of the younger woman's grip, instead allowing herself to be dragged along. Havok gave his older brother a firm slap on the back. "See you when you get back, Scotty." He and Polaris left the room, leaving only the team members who had been chosen to go along, as well as both Remy and Anna.

"Guess we should let you get ready." Anna headed towards the door, before motioning again for Rogue to follow her and Remy out. Once they reached the hallway and closed the door, Anna lowered her voice. "Be careful about this mission." She gave Rogue a hug. "I'll be seeing you."

She walked away, letting Remy and Rogue have some privacy, and rejoined her friends in the rec. room.

"Are we ready to go yet?" Bobby was somewhat impatient, having been waiting with the rest of the team for some time, as Jean, Scott, Ororo, and the Professor met in private with Lilandra and some of her advisors.

"Oh, Bobby. Give it a rest. We're all bored." Rogue tossed a small inflatable ball at a makeshift basketball net, missing completely.

"Speak for yourself. This stuff is awesome." Marie and Beast were in the back, tinkering around with some of the machinery that they had acquired. Josh walked up towards the cockpit and picked up the ball, tossing it back to Rogue. "It's good to know that you geeks are having a good time." Rogue laughed at his remark, and a pair of black cards were sent flying towards them. Josh stopped the one headed at him with a telepathic shield. The second one hit Rogue square in the face, and she didn't even flinch.

"Uno cards?" Josh picked one up off of the floor. "Aren't these a little bit more expensive than regular cards?"

Marie peeked around the corner, holding a tin of cards. "Yeah, but they're all I had."

"Give us the rest." Rogue held out her hand.

"Come and get them."

"No, you threw them, you bring them."

"You can't tell me what to do, you're not my mother."

Rogue rolled her eyes. Marie's sense of humor left much to be desired. She turned to Josh. "Ah don't know how you put up with her."

She stood up and headed to the back, snatching the tin from her daughter's hand. On her way back to the front of the jet, she tapped Bobby on the shoulder. "You wanna play, frostbite?"

"Oh, yeah."

"If you get any water on the cards, you're automatically out." Josh had played many a game of cards with his "Uncle."

"Fine. I can take a hint." He changed from his ice form back to his flesh and bones form and put his feet up on the seat in front of him.

"Aw, Bobby! Put on some real pants!" Rogue shielded her eyes as Bobby lounged around in his Speedo-like uniform. "It was cute when ya were in your twenties, but now it's just old. And nasty." She stood up and walked to where they kept their uniforms, pulling out a spare of the uniform that Bobby wore when in human form. "Put this on."

He complied, and soon the game was in full swing.

"Draw four, and I'm changing the color to... green." Bobby set down his card and Rogue groaned. He'd been dumping draw fours and draw twos on her the whole time. Luckily, though, there was a knock on the bottom of the jet, where the ramp opened up. Rogue jumped up and pressed the button to open the ramp. She stepped down and nodded respectfully at the large man who stood there. "Gladiator. Long time no see."

"Hello, Rogue."

"What can Ah do for you?"

"The professor said that it was alright if we loaded up some more items for you to take back with you. I have been instructed to deliver them." He gestured behind him, and Rogue followed his gaze to a large stack of metal cases.

"What, is someone new movin' in with us?"

"Excuse me?"

"Nothin', Sugar. We'll take care of them, thanks."

He nodded and flew away. Rogue walked over to the pile of cases and pushed them all as close to the jet as she could get them. Then, she loaded them onto the wheelchair lift and hopped on herself.

About an hour later, they were on their way back to Earth.

"That was a very fulfilling trip." Ororo spoke up as she exited the jet.

"Yes, it seemed as if there was a lot of sitting around, at least from this end of the mission." Josh was trying his best to sound official in his analysis. No one bought it, but those who were prone to speaking up about it were too tired to voice their opinions.

"Ah'm gonna hit the sack. Goodnight y'all." Rogue picked up her bag and headed towards the elevator. Scott and Jean followed her lead, Scott promising the professor to get started on some research first thing in the morning.

"I'm going to head to the lab and begin my analysis of these items" Beast hoisted a few boxes above his head and bounded off of the jet and towards the lab.

"I should probably go give him a hand with that, make sure he doesn't forget to sleep..."

Marie and Josh had been taking heir time getting off of the jet, and by the time they exited the craft, the hangar had completely cleared out.

Josh turned to her, obviously worried. "Marie... when you do that, YOU don't end up getting any sleep either."

She rolled her eyes, even though he had a point. "Don't talk down to me, little man."

"Oh, I'm a little man now?" He put his arms on either side of her, trapping her against a wall and smiling.

"Yes, you're a little man."

"You were saying something different last..."

" STILL HERE!" The shout came from behind the jet, and the two froze, their cheeks turning red as Bobby walked around the back of the aircraft. Silently, he finished going through the post-flight checks on the outside of the craft, making sure that the re-entry into the atmosphere hadn't done any damage to the jet. Satisfied, he signed off on the digital pad and picked up his bag. He pushed the button for the elevator, and as the door closed, he shouted at the last second, "AS YOU WERE!"

Josh put his arms down and stepped away, rubbing the back of his head.

Marie laughed. "That was awkward..."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"I'm just gonna go to..."

"Yeah. I should probably go to bed or something." He stooped to pick up his bag and felt a tug on his arm. Before he knew what was happening, he had been pulled back against the wall and Marie was kissing him.

"Just forgot my... GET A ROOM!" Bobby grabbed a second bag from the foot of the ramp and darted back onto the elevator, leaving Marie laughing hysterically and Josh once again shifting uncomfortably.

"Uncle Hank?" She walked back to her uncle's office and found him immersed in something on his computer. "Hanky, I'm going to start diagnostics on case #3. Alright?"

"Mm-hmm...what time is it?"

"Two thirty."

"Day or night?"

"Morning."

"My stars and garters, you're parents are going to kill me for letting you stay up this late."

"I'm an adult, I can choose my own bedtime, remember? And besides, they'll kill me for the same reason with you. Have you eaten anything since we got back?"

Beast looked thoughtful and tried to remember. "No, I don't believe that I have consumed anything since our return."

Marie opened the largest of his desk drawers and pulled out a box. "Eat some Twinkies."

She walked back out to the lab area and hefted one of the huge adamantium cases off of the floor. Opening it, she pulled out a small oblong box and set it on the exam surface.

"A little dinky box? This is the best that the shi'ar have to offer?"

Chuckling, she turned the box upside down, half expecting to hear it moo. When it didn't, she set it down again and moved to a nearby cabinet, pulling out a scanner. She lifted it towards the box, accidentally bumping the table. A light humming started, but she ignored it, chalking it up to Beast. Soon, though, a blinding flash covered the whole room, before retreating within itself and imploding, leaving the room once again in semi-darkness.

* * *

A/N: Am I going to have to hold the next chapter hostage for reviews? I'm crazy enough to do it! 


	16. 16

DISCLAIMER: Still don't own the X-Men, okay? No need to rub it in.

* * *

Josh stretched and yawned. Looking at his clock, he realized that he probably missed a training session, something that his dad would definitely not be happy about it. He slid on a pair of sandals and left his room, pausing to knock on Marie's door. 

"Hey, you up yet?"

There was no answer, and he smiled. She usually slept in longer than he did. Turning the knob, he got ready to pounce on her. Instead, he found her room empty, the bed still made.

"What?"

"She's down in the med lab." Jubilee's voice was irregularly gentle.

"What? What happened?"

"You mean it wasn't from the mission?"

"What wasn't from the mission!" He grabbed her shoulders and she literally exploded, nearly setting his shirt on fire.

"Whoa! Step off, little man! Why don't you just go down and see for yourself?"

"I think I will."

"Okay. So let go of me."

"Fine!" He let go, pushing her away. She stumbled slightly, but didn't fall.

"And you might want to look into some anger management classes too!" She shouted at his back as he ran down the hall.

"What was it?" Josh was sitting next to the hospital bed where Marie was laying, unconscious but responding to external stimuli.

"I cannot be sure, but I'm fairly certain that it is a time displacement device."

"A time machine? That's crazy."

"Actually, Josh... it ain't that crazy." Rogue had been pacing since before Josh arrived in the med lab, but she stopped, brushing the hair out of her daughter's eyes.

"She's gonna travel in time, we just don't know if this is it." Remy walked back into the room. He had left to smoke a cigarette, since Beast would not let him do it anywhere near the med lab.

"We never thought about how it would look from this side... Anna just said she would wake up and it would happen."

"Anna? What does Anna have to do with all of this?"

Rogue, Gambit, and Beast all exchanged looks, and Hank was the first to speak. "Anna is Marie."

Josh looked at their faces, before laughing. "You're all nuts. What a horrible time to make jokes like that."

When no one's faces changed, he stood up. "You're not joking?"

All three of them shook their heads, and he walked over to the phone. "I'm gong to call Anna."

"Don't bother." Everyone looked to the bed, where Marie had opened her eyes and was staring at the ceiling. "She won't be there."

"Marie!" Josh rushed back to the side of the bed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Josh... just a little tired... someone needs to call the lab, tell them I won't be in today."

"What lab? Marie, you probably just need more rest."

Rogue stepped up next to the bed. "Anna's lab?"

Marie nodded. "And tell Gina I can't meet her for lunch."

"Gina?"

Remy was already on the phone. "Oui. Of course. Monday, first t'ing. We be dere. Okay." He hung up the phone. "Marie, your boss wants t' talk wit' you. We're gonna go meet wit' him."

Marie nodded and sat up, slinging her feet over the edge of her bed. Josh tried to make her lie back down but she refused and, since she was stronger than him, there wasn't much that he could do about it.

"I'm fine, Joshy."

Still skeptical, Josh sat down again. "So wait... Anna is you?"

Marie nodded. "I don't know how to explain it... that thing is a time machine. It sent me back to before I was born."

"Okay..."

"And when I was born, they started calling me Anna so it wasn't as confusing, since that's Rogue's name."

"It is?"

"Yeah. Anna Marie."

"I never knew that."

"She'll probably just say dat it's y' own fault, 'cause y' di'nt ask."

Remy got slapped on the back of his head, and shut up, letting Marie finish the story.

"Anyways, it was weird, but I got to watch myself grow up. You, too. But it got harder, so that's when I moved."

"So you knew that stuff was going to happen?"

"Well, Anna did. I didn't...if that makes sense."

"No, not really."

"Anna-me moved because she didn't like knowing what was going to happen and not being able to do anything about it."

"So she knew ahead of time that Mom was going to die last year."

"Sugar, we all knew ahead of time that your momma was due for a dying," Rogue pointed out.

Josh rolled his eyes. "It's not the same."

"Ah'll give you that."

Marie smiled. "Yeah, she knew. And now I know. But I knew anyway, because now I've been there."

"So it's like two people living in your head?" Josh was still having trouble understanding.

She shook her head and looked at Rogue. "No, it's nothing like that... it's one person, but two sets of memories. I remember failing a test in third grade and thinking that I'd flunk out of school, but I also remember telling myself not to worry about it because I know for a fact that I won't."

"Hm..."

"I know it's a lot to swallow, but it's true."

"No, I believe you... but it's just... odd. Although, it does make sense..."

"Sense? It's never made sense."

"No, I mean... That's how your dad knew to bet on the Red Sox."

"Merde..." Remy muttered and tried to leave the room, but Rogue grabbed his arm and pulled him back in just as Josh turned to him.

"I want my money back."

"Non! Really! Remy is a big Sox fan!"

"Sure you are."

* * *

"I'm telling you... she's a mutant." Rob was standing in his boss' office, having been called in moments earlier. 

"The man on the phone introduced himself as one of the X-Men."

"Yes, that would be her father."

"Her father is a X-Man?"

"So is her mother, and so is she."

"How could I not know this?"

"She's a reserve member. She doesn't live with them at the headquarters, but she goes in when they need her."

"She's been working here for how many years?"

"Mr. Polesky... with all due respect, you never asked."

"Excuse me?"

"You never asked. Not once did you say 'By the way, you wouldn't happen to be a mutant yourself?' Not that it's a bad thing that you didn't, but given the general public opinion, being a mutant is not information that most people offer up voluntarily."

"Good point... say, you aren't..."

"No, sir I am not."

"Alright. Well, tomorrow, Anna's parents are coming in to talk to me. They're bringing along a girl named Marie."

"Did they explain to you who exactly Marie is?"

"He said something about a time machine..." Mr. Polesky shrugged, making it obvious that he hadn't followed a single word of Remy's explanation.

Rob chuckled and sat down. "You might want to clear your schedule, sir. This explanation could take some time."

* * *

The door swung open and Marie stepped in after replacing the key where it was hidden above the doorframe, out of reach of anyone who wasn't able to fly. Remy, Rogue, and Josh stepped through the door after her, and Rogue whistled. 

"Wow, you live like a slob." Marie shot her a glare and waded through the mess on the floor. She wasn't really into cleaning up, except on laundry day, when the mess on the floor dissipated slightly.

"I don't have time to clean. I spend most of my day at the lab, or over with Rob and Gina."

As if on cue, the pair walked into the apartment, and Gina ran over to Marie. "Oh my God... Anna?"

Marie smiled apologetically. "More or less."

"Wow... when you said that you might look a little younger next time we saw you, I figured you just meant that you were having some work done..."

Marie laughed. "No, G... that's your thing, not mine."

Gina's jaw dropped, and her eyes got wide. "It** is **you!"

Within two hours, they had packed up all of the things that Marie wanted to take back with her to the Institute, and loaded them into one of the SUV's that they had brought with them.

"Next stop-Genetech." Marie was carrying the last box, and she pulled the door closed on the now empty apartment, ready to face her boss as a different person altogether.

"I told him the story, A-Bomb. He knows what happened."

"Thanks, Rob. I'm getting sick of telling it."

Rob laughed. "Yeah, I can imagine."

When they reached Genetech, the normally quiet hallways were littered with scientists and researchers, all trying to catch a glimpse of some of the X-Men. The story had somehow spread throughout the facility, and they all watched Marie closely, amazed at how similar to Anna she was, but still reluctant to believe what they didn't have proof of. One of the researchers stepped up and pointed at Josh.

"Ohmygod! You're the one with the pink eye thing! Blindside!"

Marie laughed. Josh always hated it when people pointed out that his optic blasts were pink instead of red, like his dad's.

"Yeah..."

"Can I have your autograph? You're my favorite!"

Josh smiled at Marie and turned back to the researcher, winking. "Sure thing."

Remy leaned in-between Rogue and Marie, whispering. "Don' it bot'er you dat he's flirting wit' dat femme?"

Both Rogue and Marie looked at him with identical looks of disbelief, and Rogue spoke for both of them. "Of all the people t' be askin' that question you, Sugar, are the least qualified."

"You wound me, Chere!" He grabbed his chest before smiling and putting on his charm, as another female researcher approached him for an autograph.

"It's odd walking down here like this... with people knowing who you 'really' are..." Marie paused to sign something for one of her co-workers, and Rogue noticed that she now signed things as "Anna Marie."

"Ah see how it is..." She, too, was being hit up for autographs, but chose to sign with only her codename, as that was all that she had ever really known herself as. "Ya think that ya can just take mah name now?"

Marie hit her mother on the arm. "You gave it to me, it was a gift."

She looked over at Josh, who was having his picture taken with a group of female doctors. Rolling her eyes, she walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder, addressing the women. "Blindside can't come to the phone right now. He's too busy thinking up a better codename."

"At least my name is original, Coquin." He smiled at the women again and explained. "My little lady here just took her mom's codename in French. Not able to think of anything of her own, you see."

Marie hit him, and he grinned and put his arm around her. "It's okay, though, we'll get over it."

"Ms. Darkhölme?" Marie's eyes shot to the end of the hall, where Mr. Polesky stood, looking stern.

"Does this remind you at all of that time in middle school that Storm caught you flying down the hall, toilet papering the plants and statues?" Josh whispered to her, making her laugh.

"That was the last time I ever took a dare from you." She slid out of his hold and walked up the hall.

"LeBeau, actually." She corrected him as she approached.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took so long... BUT coming soon- the last chapter! So review.  



	17. 17

DISCLAIMER: I don't own them. Except for Anna MArie and Josh and their friends. But the ones that everyone already knows without me having to give a lot of intro... them, I don't own.

* * *

The meeting with her boss had gone quite well, they had agreed for her to continue her research from Westchester, with Dr. McCoy continuing his research alongside of her. After saying goodbye to Rob and Gina and inviting them to spend a weekend at the mansion sometime soon, the four X-Men got into their respective vehicles and began the long drive back to the Institute. 

"Merde! Slow down! You drive like a crazy woman!"

Rogue just smiled. "Love ya too, sweety."

"Non, don' take it dat way, it's just... Remy wants t' live!"

Grinning, she pressed down harder on the accelerator and laughed manically as Remy gripped the seat.

A few miles back, Josh was driving far too slow for Marie's liking.

"Why won't you just step on the gas a little more?"

He checked all of the mirrors carefully before easing into the other lane, the turn signal clicking as he did.

"Oh, come on... There's no one on the road!"

"Better safe than sorry."

"God, Josh, who taught you how to drive!"

"My dad."

"Figures." She crossed her arms and leaned back, before reaching up to open the sunroof. "I think I'll go check up on my folks." She unbuckled her seatbelt.

"What, you're going to just jump out of the top of the car?"

"Um... duh!" She poked him on the side of the head, before leaping out and landing on the hood of the car. She sat down, cross-legged, and waved before launching herself forward, passing the few cars that were on the road with ease.

* * *

The machines made a whirring noise and stopped, some of them incredibly beat up. A familiar voice came over the intercom. 

"Good workout, guys. Anna Marie, Josh. Please report to the control room before changing."

Their teammates bid them farewell and dragged themselves off to the locker rooms.

"Ugh, Joshy...you reek." Anna Marie hit him with her tattered jacket, and he stumbled, partly as a joke and partly because she had actually hit him hard.

"Yeah, well you always smell, so you would know."

She glared at him for a full ten seconds before breaking out into laughter. "You're right. I do smell."

"Then we agree."

"Yeah. And the reason is because I've been spending too much time in your room."

"Ouch. That hurt."

"Good." She leaned in and kissed him, breaking off the kiss only after someone nearby cleared their throat.

"This is touching, really, but I don't have all day."

"Sorry, Uncle Logan." They followed him up the stairs to the control room. As he scanned his hand to get access, he turned to them.

"And believe me, you both stink."

They exchanged a smile and climbed the rest of the stairs, stepping into a packed control room.

"Wow... is there any reason that the whole senior team is here?" Anna Marie scanned the room, taking in all of the familiar faces. She had grown up with them, grown up under their care. They had always been there for her, through the entire time travel ordeal, whether she was Anna, Marie, or both.

"Yes, there is." The Professor wheeled to the front of the crowd, having finished shutting down the danger room. "It has been decided that your team is growing too large. The range of skills on the team is too varied for it to be practical in combat. We are splitting you up. The silver team will be a part of the senior team, joining the gold and blue teams that are already in existence. It has been decided that, based on your almost inhuman amount of experience on the X-teams, Anna Marie, you will be the field leader. Joshua will be second in command."

Anna Marie's eyes grew wide. "no! no! no! no! no! NO! **NO! **Have you all gone NUTS! I just got back from being sent back in time, while simultaneously growing up with myself as my aunt for some reason that we still don't know, and you want me to be the boss! That's totally bogus. There are team members who are way more qualified!"(1)

Rogue stifled a laugh and Josh answered Marie. "This isn't a casual decision. The team talked about it. These are our lives we're putting into your hands. We wouldn't do it if we didn't believe you could handle the responsibility."

Logan stepped up from where he had been leaning against the wall. "No law says you have to accept. You can tell us you haven't got the moxie, or the smarts, or the guts. But you'd be a liar."

Anna Marie looked around the room. By then, the rest of her team had finished up in the locker room and joined the crowd in the small booth, not wanting to miss a single minute of the conversation. "So... what do I do now?"

Gambit spoke up from the back of the room, where he had been standing silently. "You take de job you've earned. You lead."

Anna Marie smiled. "You're all serious, aren't you?"

"Never more serious, hon." Rogue nodded sincerely.

"Fine, I'll do it. But there has to be something else. You wouldn't all be here if there wasn't. And you." She pointed at Jean. "You wouldn't be so quiet."

Rogue laughed. "Jeannie... your poker face needs some work."

"I'm sorry..." Jean's voice was wavering. "I'm just so..."

"So what?" Anna Marie raised an eyebrow. Something was going on.

Beside her, Josh cleared his throat. She looked at him, and Jean let out a squeak, followed by an "ouch" as Rogue elbowed her hard to get her to shut up, and the whole room got quiet as they waited for Josh to speak. After a few moments of complete silence, Josh's face fell and Anna Marie laughed out loud.

"I was kidding, of course I will."

Josh smiled again and kissed her, as the rest of the room started to murmur.

"You asked her telepathically!" Rogue was the first to express her anger and frustration with his method. "That's not fair! You get us all worked up about it and then you..." A hand clamped down over her mouth and she looked up at Gambit, who gave her a clear signal that it was her turn to be quiet. She tore his hand away from her mouth and crossed her arms in muted defiance.

Josh looked over at her and smiled. "Sorry. I had some things to say that you didn't need to hear."

He looked over at his mother, who seemed to be in a trance. "Mom?" He poked her. "**Mom? JEAN!**" He closed his eyes and poked her telepathically. Nothing. "I think she passed out."

The Professor did a mind scan, before calmly suggesting, "This room should be vacated immediately."

As the door to the room closed behind the last person, a muffled explosion could be heard. Halfway down the stairs, Josh looked at Anna Marie. "I think she's taking it well."

Moments later, the door opened and Jean stepped out, her hair glowing slightly more orange than usual. "Sorry about that. I already repaired the room."

* * *

Wrapping paper hit her in the face and she looked towards the source. Not seeing anyone, she smiled and went back to unwrapping the presents. Moments later, another ball of paper came sailing through the air at her and she reached up and caught it. 

"Josh, stop acting like a baby."

"I know you are but what am—ungh" He fell over and Jean smiled from across the room.

"You heard the woman."

Marie smiled and looked over at Jean. "Thanks, Jeannie."

"Anytime. Now open mine." A box floated towards her and Marie grabbed it from the air.

Even though the wedding had been a few weeks before, the presents had been set aside to be opened later. The honeymoon had to be postponed, because the Brotherhood decided to make a move. Those who decided to speculate came to the unanimous decision that the timing of the activity was probably triggered by the seating arrangements at the wedding reception. Mystique did not seem to enjoy being sandwiched between Kitty and Jubilee, something that she expressed through numerous trips to the punch bowl and frequent whispering of threats into Rogue's ear. Overall, though, the entire wedding went without any major problems. Kurt had presided over the ceremony, Bobby created a number of large ice sculptures, and Jubilee lit up the sky with a breathtaking display of fireworks, aided by Dazzler's, who came in to sing at both the ceremony and reception. Beast showed off his break dancing skills, and the night ended with Betsy and Alex getting completely smashed and singing love songs to an only slightly amused Wolverine, as Warren and Lorna watched from a distance, having decided that they didn't know the other two. Even Magneto made an appearance to congratulate the couple, prompting Trish Tilby (ever the observant reporter) to comment, "Wow, Hank... you really do know every single mutant on Earth." Anna Marie and Josh hadn't imagined it going that well, and were still trying to come to terms with the fact that they had actually gotten married.

"Well? Do you like it?"

Anna Marie looked over at Jean, then tried to recover. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I like it. A lot." She smiled. "I've gotta go check on something in the lab. Be right back."

The group sighed collectively. She was spending almost as much time down there as Hank, but they'd learned to cope with it. She had been trying to figure out exactly how the little black box had been able to transport her through time, and had practically vowed not to rest until she had it figured out. She ran down to read a printout and knocked on Beast's office door.

"Hanky!"

"Anna Marie?"

"Here's the printout from the last scan. Let me know what you think I'm sort of supposed to be upstairs. Presents and stuff."

"Of course. I'll get right on it."

"Thanks!" She ran out of the lab, not wanting to keep people waiting, and Hank picked up the piece of paper and examined it.

"Hm... it seems..." He galloped over to the device and looked at the printout, comparing it to the small box. "What if it..." He pressed one of the sides, and a blinding flash enveloped the room.

He woke up groggily as a horse nearly trotted over him. Rolling under a pile of building materials, he looked around. The landscape, he recognized. But there should have been a mansion. He checked his watch, happily realizing that he was wearing an image inducer. He depressed the button and stepped out, shocked to see exactly what was going on. He approached a boy who was mixing some sort of mortar.

"Excuse me, young man. Would you mind filling me in on the specifics of this project?"

The boy tipped his hat. "Morning, sir. As far as I know, my pop says some rich man, Francis Xavier, wants himself a big house here."

"Francis Xavier, you say? Tell me, what year is it?"

"Why, it's 1807, of course."

"...My stars and garters..."

* * *

(1) Rogue says something similar in X-Men #103 (August 2000); "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! Have you all gone NUTS! We got shot out of space three days ago. We're facin' the threat of a new species who wants all humanity exterminated. Two of our people are trapped in their stronghold. One more has disappeared off the face o' the earth! And we still got no clue how t' rescue any of them. An y' all want me t' be the boss! That's totally bogus. Sittin' round this table, there are x-men way more qualified!" Logan goes on to explain (quite similar to his, Gambit's and Josh's explanation here) that they really had thought about it, blah blah blah, and that she deserves to lead. 

A/N: Well, hope you liked it! Review! Just to make me happy... please?


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